Waymo's autonomous driving commercialization begins, with four major areas of deployment

On August 1, Waymo announced that it had reached a cooperation with the Phoenix Transportation Authority and would soon launch a pilot program to take passengers to bus stations or from bus stations to their destinations, providing passengers with "first mile" and "last mile" transportation services.

The move marks Waymo's first step into public transportation.

Waymo has previously publicly stated that it will provide services in four key areas: ride-hailing services, driverless truck logistics, licensing driverless technology to automakers to develop private cars, and public transportation services.

Waymo will launch a paid self-driving ride-hailing service in Phoenix this year. It will be officially launched in the second half of the year after all delivery procedures are completed. By then, more than 60,000 self-driving cars will start operating in Phoenix, and then be promoted to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Currently, Waymo has purchased 80,000 driverless cars, 20,000 of which will be Jaguar I-PACEs as high-end taxi models, and the remaining 60,000 Chrysler Pacifica cars are regular models. Waymo said that after further expanding the coverage of self-driving taxis in the United States, it will also enter the European market.

In terms of driverless truck logistics, Waymo has equipped Peterbilt trucks with a full set of autonomous driving equipment. The hardware is exactly the same as the hardware used in its Pacifica driverless cars. It is reported that Waymo's driverless trucks have already started trial transportation, transporting some goods to Google's data center in Atlanta.

On May 31 this year, the cooperation between Waymo and FCA has expanded to technology licensing, so FCA will be able to directly integrate Waymo's autonomous driving technology and customized services into new cars in the future.

In public transportation, Waymo announced that it will provide shuttle services to bus stations, train stations and light rail stations for Phoenix residents starting in August, marking its first step in the field of public transportation. The original intention of the project was to understand people's habits of using public transportation and how driverless cars can provide more convenience for bus, train and light rail passengers.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.