A SELF-DRIVING taxi company is coming to a new US city – and natives aren’t too excited.
Waymo is looking to expand its autonomous fleet to Philadelphia, launching the cars first with human safety drivers during a trial run.
The testing will go on throughout the fall (stock image)[/caption]
The company is already running autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, among other US cities (stock image)[/caption]
The company, owned by Alphabet, plans to begin testing its cars with human drivers starting this summer and going through autumn.
Waymo cars will not only drive in downtown parts, but on freeways as well, according to CNBC.
“Folks will see our vehicles driving at all hours throughout various neighborhoods, from North Central to Eastwick, and from University City to as far east as the Delaware River,” a Waymo spokesperson said, according to the outlet.
The goal is to collect data and see how the technology works in new locations, while scouting out if a city could work in the future for ride-share services.
“To bring the benefits of our technology to more people in more places and deliver on our mission to improve road safety, we take the Waymo Driver on road trips to regions where the driving culture and conditions differ from the areas we regularly operate,” the company wrote.
Waymo announced the Philadelphia expansion on X.
“This city is a National Treasure,” the company tweeted.
“It’s a city of love, where eagles fly with a gritty spirit and cheese that spreads and cheese that steaks. Our road trip continues to Philly next.”
Many comments slammed the decision, including Philadelphians themselves.
“Keep that garbage off our streets,” wrote one user.
“You should stay out,” commented another.
Users brought up the time HitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot that had traveled to other countries and just began its journey in the United States, was beheaded when it arrived in the city in 2015.
“Don’t you remember the last robot that tried to scoot around Philly?” one person wrote.
Waymo is working to expand its fully-autonomous operations in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, dealing out 250,000 paid trips a week.
The cars are fully electric, and passengers can book a ride 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Next year, the company plans to offer fully-autonomous rides in Atlanta, Miami, and Washington D.C.
Waymo has also just begun testing in New York City.
It claimed that it is “advocating for changes to state law to allow us to bring our fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the city one day.”
The law currently doesn’t allow for vehicles driving without someone behind the wheel.
The trial in the Big Apple, however, will have drivers in the car.
Self-driving cars have gotten mixed reviews from the public (stock image)[/caption]
