"Robotaxis are becoming common in some big US cities, but they're still novelties in many. In Atlanta and Austin, for instance, companies like Uber and Lyft started offering rides in driverless cars earlier this year, but some riders have told me they've had to go out of their way to hail one. Where I live, in Washington, DC, you can spot self-driving cars on the road - Google's Waymo, for one, is testing them in the market - but they're not yet available to customers."
"In San Francisco, meanwhile, self-driving cars are everywhere. On a trip there last week, I couldn't walk around the areas like Union Square and Market Street in the city center without seeing a car drive by without anyone at the wheel. It was a strange sight for me, but I shouldn't have been surprised. Waymo has been operating driverless rides in San Francisco since 2022, and the company opened the service up to anyone who downloads its app in the city last year."
Driverless cars are appearing in more US cities, often operated by Waymo both directly and through a partnership with Uber. Robotaxis have become common in some large cities while remaining novelties in others. In Atlanta and Austin, companies like Uber and Lyft began offering driverless rides earlier this year, though some riders had to go out of their way to hail them. In Washington, DC, self-driving cars such as Waymo are visible in testing but are not yet available to customers. San Francisco features ubiquitous self-driving cars; Waymo has operated driverless rides there since 2022 and opened the service to any app user last year. Hailing a Waymo car in San Francisco demonstrates the rider experience in a city where robotaxis are widespread.
Read at Business Insider
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