Waymo hits the freeway in US autonomous vehicle first

Alphabet-owned Waymo is to begin inviting riders to use its robotaxis on freeways across the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix and Los Angeles, a first in the US, allowing it to better compete with other taxi and rideshare services that already use the freeway, and offering users access to San Jose airport. For those unfamiliar with US roads terminology, a freeway is a type of highway, but much like a European motorway it has no traffic lights, intersections or cross traffic and can only be accessed and exited via ramps, so it presents far less challenges for autonomous vehicles. After extensive testing and piloting and “millions of miles logged on freeways” by employees and guests, Waymo said in a statement that it has closely collaborated with safety officials, to support this new phase. Waymo users need to opt in to access the new service, which will subsequently be extended to Austin, Atlanta and beyond, according to Waymo.

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/waymo-hits-the-freeway-in-us-autonomous-vehicle-first