Two popular rideshare companies are now preparing to offer a new feature: Driverless taxis.
Uber and Lyft are currently training staff on how to maintain the autonomous vehicles ahead of their public launch in the coming months.
Uber customers in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, will be able to hail one of these driverless rideshare cars via the app when released.
There have been concerns about the efficacy of these Waymo driverless vehicles, with software glitches causing repeated honking in a parking lot in San Francisco last August.
In 2023, activists targeted these robotaxis with a cone campaign, disabling sensors with traffic cones to disrupt the industry.
In December, a man heading to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport posted a video to LinkedIn showing his Waymo vehicle going in circles due to a glitch.
Waymo told NewsNation the issue has since been fixed with a software update, and the man was only delayed for approximately five minutes.
The vehicles debuted in Los Angeles in 2023 and are something of a common sight in traffic. Customers in California and Arizona can hail a taxi via the Waymo One app.
Both Uber and Lyft are developing Robo taxi partnerships to offer driverless rides in the future and get a cut from those fares.
Tesla is expected to join the race in the future, while Amazon is testing its own driverless vehicle called Zoox.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
