Waymo has pulled human safety drivers from its autonomous test vehicles in Nashville as the Alphabet-owned company moves closer to launching a robotaxi service in the city.
Waymo, which has been testing in Nashville for months, plans to launch a robotaxi service there this year in partnership with Lyft. Riders initially request a ride directly through the Waymo app. As the service expands, Waymo will also offer self-driving cars through the Lyft app. Lyft said its wholly-owned subsidiary Flexdrive will handle vehicle services such as fleet readiness and maintenance, charging infrastructure and warehouse operations.
Waymo has accelerated its robotaxi expansion and currently operates commercial services in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Phoenix. We also have driverless test vehicles in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando.
Companies tend to follow the same launch strategy in every new market, starting with small, manually driven vehicles to map cities. The self-driving cars are then tested with human safety operators in the driver’s seat. Eventually, the company will conduct driverless tests that will allow employees to summon rides before launching a robotaxi service.
