Waymo To Now Work Hand-In-Hand With Public Transportation
Transport is key to our daily lives, and though there are many private services that aim to make it much more easy to commute like Uber, public transport is always a step ahead. May it be convenience or the reach of public transport, there are many who still prefer public transport like buses and trains. Now though they might be very practical, reaching a bus stop or train station on time, especially during rush hour can be pretty painful.
And Waymo aims to change that. The former Google project is launching a brand new program in Phoenix next month. This new project will now focus on delivering commuters to bus stops and train stations. The project is looked up to and is backed up by Valley Metro, the area’s regional public transportation authority.
This new project provides us with insight into the company’s new business strategy. The company is now looking into creating a ride-hailing service, and the company has been making steps towards that too. The second aspect is to develop self-driving trucks that would be used for logistics, and the company is also looking into licensing its technology to other third-party automakers for personally owned vehicles.
Initial Testing
The addition of connecting people to public transportation now shows that the company is increasingly looking into helping commuters on a much more personal level. This project would first be tested out to employees of the Valley Metro. Commuters would now be able to use the Waymo app to hail a ride in the company’s autonomous Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans that would take them to the nearest public transportation outlet.
This project would help the company learn more about how commuters catch public transportation and all the choices and decisions that they make. The company would thus be able to configure the program accordingly so that it can be more practical and appealing for the public to use this service.
This program would also be a support to the Government as instead of trying to hijack the computing industry, it is supporting public transport, and hence being a boon to the government. This program is also supposed to be cost-effective as the prices of the commute are expected to be slashed down to match the charges of public transport.
Regional Development
Waymo as a company is also proving to be a boon to Phoenix as it is becoming a major testing hub for the company. Waymo has been testing its self-driving vehicles for months in the city and had also launched a very early rider program. The company also took testing a notch up when it began shuttling a group of self-driving vehicles without a human test driver.
Waymo is also expanding its operations across companies like Walmart, AutoNation, Avis and various other companies. Waymo would now soon pick up customers and drive them to these businesses, again only in the Phoenix area. It is clear that now Phoenix would see a huge boom in transport, and businesses are also expected to invest in this program.
