Google‘s sister company Waymo has created a free rider test program in Phoenix, Arizona. Waymo has been one of the most aggressive developers of autonomous car driving technology, with their vehicles racking up over 2.5 million miles on public roads without human help.
Hundreds of families are expected to take part. Waymo has equipped a fleet of 500 Chrysler Pacifica minivans with its self-driving technology to handle ride requests.
The company said testers could ride any time across a test area in Phoenix twice the size of San Francisco.
The test is the first, large-scale public trial of a driverless car system.
In a blog John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief executive, said it had been doing small-scale tests of its riding service with a few Phoenix families for the past month.
The new testing with more testers will give the firm data from a pool of riders with a “diverse backgrounds and transportation needs.”
“We’ll learn things like where people want to go in a self-driving car, how they communicate with our vehicles, and what information and controls they want to see inside,” wrote Mr Krafcik.
Those applying to take part must be over 18 and live inside the large test region, which forms part of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
The cars will not be entirely autonomous, as Arizona laws governing the use of autonomous vehicles demand a test driver be behind the wheel to take control in the event of problems or collisions.
