Waymo wants to use cars without a backup driver for taxi service this month

Google sister company Waymo wants to start a taxi service this fall with self-driving cars that will not have a driver to intervene if things go wrong. It would be the first time that a company offers such a service.

The service is to start near the American city of Phoenix, reports The Information. Waymo would like to start this month, although the company may postpone the start for a while. Until now, taxi services with self-driving cars invariably have a driver on board to intervene if things go wrong.

It’s not the first time Waymo has turned to Phoenix for experimentation. The Early Riders program for beta testers also took place there. It is unknown which car Waymo will use for the taxi service. The article by The Information contains little information about this and focuses mainly on the dissatisfaction between people at the top of the company. For the test, the company had copies of the Lexus RX450h and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid converted.

Waymo is the result of Google’s efforts to develop a self-driving car. A few years ago, Google spun off that division and renamed it Waymo.