"After years of back-and-forth negotiations, Waymo signed "Testing and Operations Pilot Permit" with SFO, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a release. Under the agreement, Waymo will roll out its service to SFO in three phases, including testing vehicles with a human driver, testing without a driver, and eventually beginning commercial service."
"Waymo will start its tests with employees before eventually inviting members of the public to take trips to and from the airport. Pickups and dropoffs will initially take place at SFO's Kiss & Fly lot, which is accessible to the terminals via the AirTrain."
"But airports represent a huge money-making opportunity for robotaxis, with airport trips accounting for an estimated 20 percent of human-driven ridehail car trips. Waymo will need airport access if it hopes to eventually compete with Uber and Lyft - to say nothing of earning enough money to make a profit."
Waymo obtained a Testing and Operations Pilot Permit to test robotaxis at San Francisco International Airport and will deploy service in three phases: testing with a human driver, testing without a driver, and ultimately commercial operation. Initial trials will use employees, with public rides introduced later. Pickups and dropoffs will start at SFO's Kiss & Fly lot, reachable by AirTrain. Waymo currently operates in five cities and serves Phoenix Sky Harbor as its only airport. Airports are a major revenue opportunity, comprising roughly 20 percent of ridehail trips, and airport access is crucial to compete with Uber and Lyft and reach profitability.
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]