Phoenix residents can now hail Waymo’s driverless vans for free

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Updated Nov 24, 2017
A Waymo driverless Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivanA Waymo driverless Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan

Waymo has launched a test of a fully autonomous ride program in the Phoenix metro area and is looking for people to sign up for free rides in vehicles without drivers.

Waymo, which started as Google’s self-driving project in 2009 and became a private company in 2016, has been testing autonomous vehicles in Phoenix without a driver on public roads, the company says.

The company is searching for people to sign up for its Early Rider program in the Phoenix area. There is no charge for rides.

“Participants in our Early Rider program will be amongst the first to experience these fully self-driving rides, using our vehicles to commute to work, take the kids to school, or get home from a night out,” the company says on its website. Participants will be asked to share their comments with the company. Waymo says it plans to gradually expand the program and hopes to sign up hundreds of riders.

The company says its self-driving vehicles have logged more than 3.5 million on public roads across 20 U.S. cities. And it says it has run more than 20,000 test scenarios on its private track.

This year it unveiled its new self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans, which will be used in the Early Rider program.

A video of the company’s driverless vehicles is below.