UPDATED 15:37 EDT / NOVEMBER 13 2018

EMERGING TECH

Report: Waymo will launch a commercial driverless taxi service next month

A decade after it started working on self-driving cars, Alphabet Inc. is reportedly finally moving to commercialize the technology.

A Bloomberg report published today claims that Waymo LLC, the subsidiary that leads the company’s efforts in this segment, will launch a paid autonomous taxi service early next month. The service would be the first of its kind in the world and could cement the group’s edge over rivals.

Waymo is widely considered a frontrunner in the race to make autonomous vehicles a mass-market reality. The group’s test fleet, which consists mainly of modified Chrysler Pacifica minivans (pictured), has covered more miles on public roads than the vehicles of any other competitor. Waymo conducts much of its testing in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area, which is where the commercial service will reportedly launch first.

Today’s report indicates that the group intends to take a gradual approach with the rollout. According to an anonymous tipster who spoke with Bloomberg, Waymo will initially open the service to only a small pool of users consisting of several dozens to a hundred people. The participants are expected to be drawn from the 400-person volunteer group that has been helping Waymo test its minivans in Arizona.

From there, the Alphabet subsidiary will reportedly expand availability to other parts of the U.S., including Silicon Valley. That’s notable because Waymo recently received an industry-first license to operate fully autonomous vehicles in California. However, the source said the group will initially place backup drivers in some cars for safety reasons.

The source also provided a glimpse into Waymo’s market strategy. The group apparently intends to launch the service under a dedicated consumer brand aimed at directly competing with Uber Technologies Inc.’s and Lyft Inc.’s ride-hailing apps.

One area Waymo is said to be prioritizing as part of the effort is pricing. The group is expected to offer “straightforward” fares on launch in a bid to lure customers away from Uber and Lyft, though it’s likely rates will change quite a bit over time as the company fine-tunes its business model.

The ride-hailing segment is just one of several markets that Waymo wants to disrupt. Besides driverless taxis, the group is also developing autonomous trucks that are already being used to haul freight in Atlanta.

Photo: Waymo

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