Waymo is set to expand its self-driving taxi service onto highways in three US cities on Wednesday, an advance for the venture owned by Google’s parent company that raises the stakes on safety.
The company said it would add the high-speed roads to its routes in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, allowing Waymo cars to ferry passengers to more destinations including San Jose International Airport.
Waymo’s rollout on highways marks a significant step for the robotaxi operator as it aims to encourage the mass adoption of driverless vehicles. It is the first time a company will carry out paid driverless services on the highway without a driver behind the wheel.
“Achieving fully autonomous freeway operations is a profound engineering feat—easy to conceive, yet hard to truly master,” said Dmitri Dolgov, Waymo’s co-chief executive.
Alphabet-owned Waymo started testing on highways last year but had limited its paid ride-hailing service to streets within set areas in five US cities.
Highways present additional challenges for Waymo, particularly around rider safety. Its vehicles will now reach speeds of up to 65 miles per hour, which increases the risk of deadly collisions.
Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo’s other co-CEO, speaking at TechCrunch’s Disrupt summit last month, was asked whether she thought the public would accept fatal incidents involving robotaxis. “I think society will,” she said.