Waymo recently announced on X that it now provides 50,000 paid autonomous ride-hailing trips per week in three cities, and one of these is relatively new. This is undoubtedly a proof point that its autonomous ride-hailing services (ARS) are a viable and safe technology that is being accepted in the marketplace, says Seeking Alpha.

Waymo recently announced that it now provides 50,000 paid autonomous trips per week in three cities and more than a year ago announced that it had surpassed one million paid trips (Waymo Release: One Million Miles). This goes a long way to prove that its autonomous driving technology works.

The technology used by autonomous ride-hailing services such as Waymo and Cruise is considered SAE Level 4 and is much different than the autonomous driving technology used by Tesla that is only SAE Level 2, or semi-autonomous driving, where a driver still needs to be aware and ready to take control.

‘Sufficiently-autonomous driving’ uses high-definition maps and lidar, so the vehicle can place itself in a specific position on the map to know precisely, within centimeters, where it is. Significantly, these maps also limit the area and routes the autonomous vehicle can drive without any driver or person in the vehicle. As subsequently described, Waymo has specific limited areas defined in its three current cities.

Fifty thousand autonomous paid trips per week is substantial. It demonstrates that tens of thousands of people are comfortable using this service. Currently, Waymo is operating in just three metropolitan areas.

Waymo started its autonomous ride-hailing service in the Phoenix metropolitan area in 2020. Its service now covers 225 square miles of metropolitan Phoenix with 24/7 service.

(Pic – Waymo)