Waymo (WAYMO) announced on Tuesday that it is introducing fully autonomous driving for the first time in Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. The Alphabet (GOOG)-owned company said operations start on Tuesday in Miami and will begin in the remaining four cities over the coming weeks, ahead of opening doors to riders next year.
Notably, Waymo (WAYMO) is quickly entering a number of new cities in the U.S. and around the world with what it says is a consistent approach.
The Waymo Way: “We compare our driving performance against a proven baseline to validate the performance of the Waymo Driver and identify any unique local characteristics. As needed, we then refine the Waymo Driver’s AI to navigate these local nuances—which are becoming fewer with every city. This data feeds into a flywheel of continuous improvement, bolstered by rigorous validation through real-world driving and advanced simulation, then implemented through regular software releases. The result is that all of our riders experience consistent, high-quality service with the highest safety standards.”
Importantly, Waymo (WAYMO) said its data demonstrates the Waymo Driver is improving road safety in the cities it serves, including involvement in 11 times fewer serious injury collisions compared to human drivers.
The safety consideration is something that Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has also consistently mentioned. So far, the frequency of crashes for Tesla’s (TSLA) robotaxi fleet is estimated at roughly one per 100,000 km driven, which is higher than that reported by Waymo (WAYMO) for comparable mileage but still at a solid level compared to human drivers. Analysts project that Tesla (TSLA) will be operating its robotaxi fleet in several new metropolitan areas by the end of 2025.