Waymo To Begin Driverless Trips In Downtown Phoenix

PHOENIX, AZ — There will soon be passengers riding around downtown Phoenix in cars with no human driver behind the wheel, Waymo announced on Wednesday.

Downtown Phoenix is set to be the autonomous driving service's third location where it will provide rides without a human behind the wheel, following the nearby East Valley and San Francisco.

Waymo has also recently begun trips to Sky Harbor Airport, with an autonomous specialist present behind the wheel. The company plans to begin this endeavor by ferrying Waymo employees between downtown Phoenix and the airport, with plans to eventually open up services there to members of the public in its Trusted Tester program.

The Wednesday announcement came daily shortly after Waymo announced it had begun operating in downtown Phoenix and had launched its Trusted Tester program there.

The Trusted Tester program is a research program that allows select drivers to use Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service and then give feedback to the company about the service, according to Waymo's website.