Waymo robotaxi app arrives on the App Store
1Reported today on TechCrunch
For the full article visit: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/05/waymo-robotaxi-app-arrives-on-the-app-store/
Waymo robotaxi app arrives on the App Store
Hailing one of Waymo's self-driving minivans is about to get a little easier.
One year after launching its Waymo One self-driving car service in the Phoenix area, the company is launching an app on iOS, the latest signal that the company is inching towards large-scale commercial service. Now, Phoenix residents can download the Waymo app to their iPhone and sign up to ride in one of the company's self-driving vehicles directly from the device.
Waymo, which spun out to become a business under Alphabet, launched a limited commercial robotaxi service called Waymo One in the Phoenix area in December 2018. The Waymo One self-driving car service, and accompanying app, was only available to Phoenix residents who were part of its early rider program, which aimed to bring vetted regular folks into its self-driving minivans.
In April, the company put its app on the Google Play store. Now, one year after Waymo One launched, it has finally made its way to the App store. The company has made improvements to the app over the past several months, including simplifying how rides are ordered to speed up the process. Users can honk the car's horn from the app, a feature that Waymo says gives riders, including those with low vision, another way to find their car at pickup.
All of these steps are bringing Waymo closer to fuller commercial service that will include driverless vehicles. Until recently, all hailed self-driving Waymos had a human safety driver behind the wheel. The company began in November to put fully driverless vehicles into the fleet.
Hailing a driverless ride in a Waymo
Technically, Waymo has had Android and iOS apps for some time. Interested riders would only gain access to the app after first a