Uber calls on its customers in Atlanta to participate in a list if they are interested in promoting a Waymo Robotaxi as companies prepare to start a trading service in the city.
Uber and Waymo last September announced plans to offer a Robotaxi service to Austin and Atlanta in early 2025 as part of an extensive corporate relationship. In March, companies started offering the Robotaxi “Waymo On Uber” service to Austin, about a month after opening a “list of interest” to customers.
Companies said Tuesday that the public will be able to spoil a robot in Atlanta this summer.
For the two companies, the “Waymo On Uber” service divides the responsibilities of ownership and operation of a vehicle without a driver: Uber handles the charge, maintenance and cleaning of autonomous vehicles, as well as managing the robot access through its application, while Waymo monitors technology and remarkable operations.
Under the partnership, only Uber users can spoil the fleet of Jaguar I-Pace autonomous vehicles.
The relationship between the two companies has taken a 180 -degree turn since the beginning of 2018, when they headed to a trial alleged that Uber stole Waymo’s commercial secrets. The trial settled in February 2018.
In the seven years since the settlement, Waymo has connected, developing, testing, and ultimately offering a Robotaxi commercial service in Phoenix. The Alphabet company later expanded its commercial service in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Uber took a more desperate route to offer a robot trade service. After settlement, Rideshare continued to operate its own home autonomous vehicle, called Uber Atg for another two years. He would sell this subsidiary in a complex deal with Aurora in December 2020.
But Uber soon began to erase its position in the Robotaxi emerging market with the cooperation with autonomous vehicle developers. The company has reached agreements with 14 autonomous vehicles that cover driving, delivery and a handful of which operate commercially. In December, Uber started the Robotaxi Rides in Abu Dhabi with Weride and Waymo’s autonomous vehicles were available in the Uber app in Phoenix since October 2023.
Soon, Atlanta will take part in the growing list of cities where locals can break a driver without a driver. The service will initially cover 65 square miles of the city, including DownTown, Buckhead and Capitol. Companies have said there are plans to expand business territory in the future.
Uber and Waymo said customers participating in the list will receive updates and increase their chances of greeting a robot as soon as the service begins. Customers registered can also receive timely access to Waymo walks before they are available to the public, according to companies.
To join, Uber’s customers in Atlanta must update the application, then go to the “Account” and then “Settings”. From there, customers can click on “Ride Preferences”, where they should see a list that includes autonomous vehicles and an option to participate in the list of interest.
