Fully autonomous taxi service comes to Santa Monica
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Angelenos now have the chance to experience Waymo’s driverless taxi service – and for free.
"It works like any other ride-hailing service," Sandra Karp with Waymo explained. She said you open the Waymo app, type in your destination and the app will inform riders of a pick-up location. You can even customize the sign on the top of the vehicle with your name or initials on it to make sure you’re getting in the right car.
Development for the technology started in 2009. Each Waymo-equipped vehicle relies on 29 cameras and sensors to navigate city streets. There are cameras inside the vehicles as well for riders’ safety and user experience. In addition, there’s also customer support.
A real-time map shows riders where they’re going and when they’re expected to arrive at their destination.
Waymo has been operating in San Francisco and Phoenix and the company is aiming to enter the Los Angeles market.
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Between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., users can experience the autonomous taxi from the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.