Waymo Launches Robotaxi Service in Downtown Phoenix and Gets Permit to Charge Fees in San Francisco

Waymo had not one but two announcements this week: the first was that the company, which has been operating a driverless robotaxi service in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix in Arizona, since 2018, is now officially offering it to the people of Phoenix itself.

Joel Johnson, a videography student who has spent the last few years documenting hundreds of such rides via video in a driverless Waymo as a backseat passenger, had received the honor from Waymo to make the announcement.

As of today, Waymo is opening its rider-only Downtown Phoenix taxi service to the public! This means that anyone can download the app and take a spin in the I-PACEs. They also invited me out to record some videos, the first of which will be up shortly! pic.twitter.com/VZb5amYZ9I

— Joel Johnson (@jjricks_) November 10, 2022

The robotaxi service itself – unlike Chandler’s – will not be done with Fiat Chrysler minivans, but with the all-electric Jaguar iPace.

The second announcement was that Waym in San Francisco will now be allowed to charge trucking fees in addition to the driverless license the company has had since last year. The California Public Utility Commission CPUC, which has jurisdiction over cab and delivery service regulations, approved it. However, so far only for deliveries, not yet for passengers.

Die Service Area von Waymo in San Francisco deckt übrigens die oben gezeigte Fläche ab, im Vergleich dazu die bislang und ab November geltenden Service Areas für Cruise im unteren Bild.

This article was also published in German.