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ToggleWaymo will offer a self-driving taxi service in Miami by 2026
Source: Gasgoo
Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit Waymo said on Monday it will expand its self-driving taxi service to Miami, Florida, as it seeks an edge in an increasingly competitive market. The move will add one more area where Waymo’s self-driving taxis operate.
Image Source: Waymo
Waymo plans to begin testing its Jaguar self-driving models in Miami next year, giving self-driving taxis time to learn around Florida’s largest city, before starting to offer self-driving taxi fares in Miami through the Waymo One app by 2026.
Waymo also announced a partnership with auto financing company Moove. Moove will manage Waymo’s fleet operations from Phoenix, Arizona, and maintain self-driving taxis and charging infrastructure. Waymo currently operates about 200 vehicles in Phoenix. Moove will also help manage Waymo’s self-driving taxis in Miami.
As part of a partnership with global mobility and delivery technology company Uber, Waymo also plans to launch its self-driving taxis in the US markets of Atlanta and Austin next year.
In November, Waymo opened its self-driving taxi service, Waymo One, to all customers in Los Angeles.
Although Waymo is still losing money, the company is now able to provide more than 150,000 autonomous taxi services per week without any major accidents. The performance bolstered confidence that Waymo will be able to continue bringing its self-driving taxis to more markets and eventually generate steady profits, an expectation that helped Waymo raise $5.6 billion from Alphabet and other major investors in October.
However, it is worth noting that at present, the fierce competition in the self-driving car market, especially from General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary Cruise, Amazon’s Zoox and US electric car manufacturer Tesla, This poses a significant challenge to Waymo’s goal of establishing and maintaining market dominance in the rapidly evolving field of autonomous driving technology.