As anticipated, and for a select group for now.
Some riders can start boarding Waymo self-driving cars in Houston and two other Texas cities Tuesday, marking the latest launch for the nationwide fleet of robotaxis.
The driverless vehicles debuted in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Orlando, Fla., after they spent months testing their technology on the roadways. Waymo is now set to invite “select riders” who downloaded the service’s app to take their first rides, according to the service.
Tens of thousands of users have downloaded the app in Waymo’s newest cities, and riders will receive invitations “on a rolling basis,” according to Waymo.
“Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando are critical to our plans, as we lay groundwork for service in 20+ cities,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement. “Each community has its own unique charm and transportation needs, and we’re eager to provide a safe, reliable and magical way for locals and visitors to travel.”
Waymo has a commercial fleet of 3,000 vehicles, now in 10 U.S. cities. It has rolled out rides in Austin as well as Atlanta, Ga; Los Angles, Calif.; Miami, Fla.; Phoenix, Ariz. and the Bay Area in California, according to the company. The service had offered over 20 million paid trips through December, according to Waymo.
In Houston, the self-driving cars circulate through the northwest portion of Houston’s Inner Loop. A graphic by the company shows the vehicles cover ground through Downtown, Midtown, Montrose, First and Fourth wards, the Heights, Upper Kirby and Rice Military.
See here and here for some background. You can see the map of the current service area, which is about two-thirds of the upper left quadrant of the Inner Loop. I don’t think you could use it to get to Memorial Park right now, but it looks like all of the major sports venues are in scope. As I’ve said before, I’m lukewarm on the whole thing, but given that it’s here I hope it goes well. Someone else will have to do the beta testing, I’m afraid, I don’t have the app.
Along the lines of how to make it go well, the Chron editorial board has a couple of thoughts.
Self-driving cars are statistically safer than human drivers. They can also be significantly more annoying. Because they’re programmed to obey every rule and hesitation, self-driving cars have a bad habit of exacerbating poorly designed traffic bottlenecks.
Looking at experiences in other cities, it becomes clear that the worst case scenario for Waymo involves long lines and clogged curb space at airports, concert venues, stadiums and convention centers.
Houston should act before the problems materialize for us.
The city and county must designate more clearly marked, well-designed pick-up and drop-off zones at major destinations and public facilities. Just as importantly, City Hall should encourage large private developments — from entertainment venues to office towers — to incorporate safe, off-street ride-hailing areas that prevent spillover into traffic lanes.
Curb chaos is a policy failure, not a technological inevitability.
Even the most comfortable autonomous vehicle cannot solve Houston’s fundamental challenge: Our street design funnels too many cars into overly crowded corridors. Imagine hundreds of Waymos added to the mess that is the West Loop.
Metro buses and rail remain the most efficient way to move large numbers of people, particularly into job centers like downtown, Uptown and the Texas Medical Center. But sprawling Houston has a problem: Many riders have problems getting to and from their transit stops.
Robotaxis can help bridge that gap.
Yes, that last bit is a slap at Evolve. Given that I assume Waymo timed its entry here to be available for the World Cup, that warning about “curb chaos” should be heeded. Imagine what Kirby Drive in front of NRG Stadium will be like if even just a few hundred people decide this is how they want to get to the game. (Take the Red Line! Seriously!) I’m not sure what the city can do about that now, but at least we can say we saw it coming.
Two more things. One is to acknowledge that while Waymos have a good safety record, certainly a better one than Tesla robotaxis have, they do have some issues, particularly of late with school buses. There are also lingering questions about their use of remote agents, which they say cannot and do not take over driving the vehicles. And two, I drove next to one of these things on my way home from the office yesterday. The vehicle was completely empty as far as I could tell – I mean, I was driving, so I could only get so good a look, but for sure there was no driver – so it may have been in testing, or en route somewhere, or just hanging around waiting for a fare. That is going to take some getting used to. Houston Public Media and CultureMap San Antonio have more.
Hopefully they are taking the units from Austin. This city is crawling with those things. It’s like a giant white roach infestation.
Enjoy the extra traffic, Houston.