Waymo accepting applications

Chrysler Pacifica. © Waymo.

Waymo, Google/Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, is looking for hundreds of families in the Phoenix, AZ area to test-use its self-driving vehicles in real-world conditions. The vehicles are Chrysler Pacifica mini-vans, a model that has already been used for other tests. “We’ve given 10,000 rides internally, but if you’re just providing experiences to folks inside the company, you’re missing the broader range of diversity,” John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief executive, said. Rather than offering people one or two rides, the goal of the program is to give participants access to a fleet of 600 vehicles every day, at any time, to go anywhere within an area about twice the size of San Francisco. Test families will access the service for free. Waymo says that, for safety and regulatory reasons, a Waymo employee will sit in the driver’s seat, which may keep some families from sharing and bonding…

⇨ Bloomberg Technology, “Alphabet’s self-driving cars to get their first real riders.”