Waymo riders in metro Phoenix will soon start seeing a new option pop up in their apps: autonomous freeway trips.
The company confirmed this week that it has begun gradually enabling freeway routes for select users, a milestone following more than a year of highway testing with employees. Riders who don’t yet see freeway availability can add themselves to an interest list directly through the Waymo app, with access granted in phases as testing expands.
The freeway feature won’t be limited to Arizona. Waymo says Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area are also slated to receive the same capability — an expansion that signals the company’s increasing confidence in its driverless platform. More background on Waymo’s safety work can be found in a recent TechCrunch report.
The rollout comes on the heels of a growing footprint in the Valley. Just last month, Waymo announced a partnership with DoorDash to power autonomous deliveries in Phoenix, adding another layer to the company’s presence across the region.
For now, the company is not offering a timeline for when all riders will gain freeway access. But as Waymo continues opening the feature to more users, Phoenix remains one of the company’s largest — and most closely watched — testing grounds for long-range, fully driverless travel.
