Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo, Alphabet"s driverless car business, has announced that the company delivered 100,000 paid trips with its robotaxis for the first time. The increase in robotaxis rides could lead to more efficient transportation services and lower costs for consumers, but it will also negatively affect taxi drivers who will have to adapt.
We’re building a safer future one ride at a time, and I’m thrilled to share that we"ve just surpassed 100k paid trips per week! Congratulations to the entire @Waymo team on this incredible milestone, and thank you to our riders who make this journey possible. pic.twitter.com/hAlid7jVIK
— Tekedra N Mawakana (@TechTekedra) August 20, 2024
Waymo doesn"t say how many vehicles it has in its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles but a Freedom of Information Act request from the California Department of Revenue found that Waymo is operating 778 robotaxis in California. TechCrunch said it"s unclear whether any of those vehicles are also operating in its other market, Phoenix, Arizona.
According to the latest stats from DemandSage, Uber has 1.5 million drivers working in the United States. While the robotaxi business is still getting off the ground it could affect a significant number of workers. This revolution is taking place alongside the expansion of generative AI which could also displace people from jobs in large numbers.
According to TechCrunch, Waymo offers 24/7 service in San Francisco and is moving into new areas of Los Angeles. It has also recently arrived in San Francisco Peninsula, and is testing vehicles with no human safety driver on freeways there. The company is also operating in Austin, Texas, but isn"t charging for driverless rides yet.
While the revenues that Waymo is earning are helpful for the company, a lot is still being spent developing the technology. TechCrunch said that Alphabet has decided to spend an extra $5 billion on Waymo in the coming years which goes to show the business of autonomous vehicles is not cheap or easy.
For those who haven"t used Waymo, online reports say that the service is often similarly priced to Uber, however, there"s no driver you need to tip so it can work out cheaper.
Source: X via TechCrunch