Melissa Donovan
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer took the first spin in Orlando’s first driverless ride service, Waymo, on Tuesday.
Similar to most ride-hailing services, customers will be able to use an app to order a ride to get from point A to point B, but with Waymo, there will be no one behind the wheel. The autonomous vehicle company opened up its market to Florida and Texas with the launch of Waymo in Orlando, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston on Feb. 24. Select customers will have access to order rides within the app, with availability to all users becoming available later this year.
“We’ve been working with Waymo for several months to make today’s announcement possible,” Dyer said in a press release. “The launch of their commercial service in Orlando is another example of our city’s forward thinking and commitment to innovation. Starting today, our residents will have another option to safely move about the area, and our visitors will be welcomed with the world-class mobility they deserve. Welcome to Orlando, Waymo!”
Waymo’s generalizable technology can handle each city’s unique environment, from downpours to snow to hot temperatures, while mapping the area.
The company prides itself on safety, as its rides thus far have seen a decline in road-related injuries.
“With over 200 million fully autonomous miles traveled, we are proud to improve road safety in cities where we operate. Data from over 127 million miles traveled shows we achieved a ten-fold reduction in serious injury or worse crashes and 12-fold reduction in injury crashes with pedestrians compared to human drivers, and we are excited to bring these safety benefits to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando,” Waymo wrote.
The expansion into Florida and Texas makes Waymo ahead of the curve as the “only company successfully operating a commercial fully autonomous ride-hailing service at scale in multiple complex urban environments,” as it has already been introduced to six other cities.
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