Waymo may operate AVs in Phoenix ‘without safety driver’
Ride-hailing company Waymo may be about to start operating fully-autonomous vehicles (AVs) to pick people up - without a safety driver.
An email sent to users, which appeared on Reddit, said people in Phoenix, Arizona, who were matched with an AV will see a notification in the app that confirms the car will not have a trained driver.
Users can tap a ‘What to Expect’ button within the app to learn more about the AVs. They can also communicate with a rider support agent at any part of the trip via the app o
October 17, 2019
Read time: 2 mins
Ride-hailing company 8621 Waymo may be about to start operating fully-autonomous vehicles (AVs) to pick people up - without a safety driver.
An email sent to users, which appeared on %$Linker: 2External<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />000link-external Redditfalsehttps://www.reddit.com/r/SelfDrivingCars/comments/dflcan/waymo_email_to_customers_completely_driverless/falsefalse%>, said people in Phoenix, Arizona, who were matched with an AV will see a notification in the app that confirms the car will not have a trained driver.
Users can tap a ‘What to Expect’ button within the app to learn more about the AVs. They can also communicate with a rider support agent at any part of the trip via the app or the car’s help button, the company adds. Earlier this year, Waymo %$Linker: 2External<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />000link-external deployed falsehttps://www.itsinternational.com/categories/utc/news/waymo-and-lyft-bring-more-avs-to-phoenix/falsefalse%>10 AVs on 8789 Lyft’s platform to operate in the Metro Phoenix area.
In a separate announcement, the company said via %$Linker: 2External<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />000link-external Twitter falsehttps://twitter.com/Waymo/status/1181240275642961920falsefalse%>that it has deployed AVs in Los Angeles to explore “how Waymo’s tech might fit into LA’s dynamic transportation environment”.
Bird is to roll out an app feature which allows people to report poorly parked or damaged electric scooters to the company.
It is an attempt to solve one of the biggest bugbears surrounding the deployment of scooters and dockless bikes – the issue of what happens when users abandon or abuse the vehicles.
Bird says the app’s new ‘community mode’ will improve parking and safety in the cities where it operates, such as Portland and Salt Lake City.
The company will use reports to reposition poorly parked e-
Scooter-share firm Bird is to acquire Scoot, a San Francisco-based electric vehicle (EV) company.
Scoot began deploying electric scooters in San Francisco in 2012 and has expanded in Santiago, Chile and Barcelona.
Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird says the partnership will work toward replacing “car trips with micro mobility options for all”.
Scoot will continue to operate under the same name but as a subsidiary of Bird.
The Government of Japan is to install 5G wireless communications base stations on traffic signals nationwide by 2025.
A report by The Japan News says the project is expected to reduce costs for telecommunications service providers.
As part of the project, traffic signals will be equipped with devices to measure the amount of traffic. The information sent from the stations to the vehicles is expected to support autonomous driving.
Japan is not the only company looking to harness the potential of 5G. In F
PSC Solar, the research and development subsidiary of PSC Industries, will deploy electric vehicle (EV) chargers across four African nations, according to media reports.
Chargers will be installed in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger and Benin in preparation for the arrival of EVs.
Patrick Owelle, CEO of the PSC Solar, says governments all over the world are starting to ban diesel and petrol engines due to climate change and pollution and that Africa must also take a position on the issue.
He says PSC’s charg