Fresh from successfully becoming a fixture on the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles despite pleas from pedestrians, Alphabet-owned robotaxi service Waymo has announced plans to set up shop in Miami starting next year, according to a announcement carried out by the company on Thursday.
Waymo has tested its vehicles in Florida in the past, but said he will “reacquaint himself” with the Sunshine State by pitching Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles featuring its self-driving technology starting in early 2025. It plans to make rides widely available in 2026, allowing Miamians to order a ride through its Waymo One app.
Miami’s fleet will be operated by Movean Africa-based mobility fintech company that offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing, logistics and delivery drivers. The company, valued at $750 million, grossed a Uber invests $100 million earlier this year. Moove helps drivers finance vehicle purchases by locking them in with a annual interest rate up to 13%and deducts payments directly from the driver’s earnings until the loan is repaid – an arrangement that has enabled low-income workers in developing regions to access the exploitative gig economybut he largely failed to do so improve their material conditions.
Of course, with Waymo there is no driver: there is only the risk that a soulless, godless machine will fail to identify traffic signs and motorcyclists. The company says its driverless vehicles are significantly safer than the humane alternative – last year’s Waymo conducted an analysis of the more than seven million miles its vehicles traveled across Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco and found that its autonomous system was 6.7 times less likely to be involved in a crash and 2.3 times less likely of being involved in an accident reported by the police versus a road accident. human driver.
But the safety record is not spotless. Waymo is currently under a federal investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for a series of incidents in which the company’s vehicles were involved in crashes and allegedly violated highway safety laws. According to the NHTSA, the investigation focuses on more than 20 cases that “involved collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver should avoid.” Waymo too issued two separate warnings for its autonomous software earlier this year in response to incidents, including one where a The Waymo vehicle struck a cyclist.
Despite the high-profile incidents, Waymo has continued its efforts to put driverless vehicles on the road. Earlier this year, the company made ride-hailing available to the public in both San Francisco AND Los Angeles. It also opened up races to select people Austin, Texasand announced plans to offer driverless rides in Atlanta, Georgia starting early next year.
The company still has a long way to go to gain public trust, even as it begins to share the streets with more people across the country. According to AAA survey published earlier this year, only 9% of drivers trust autonomous vehicles. This fear has only worsened as driverless cars have become more common, dropping from 15% of people trusting autonomous vehicles in 2022.
