Waymo scraps AV operations in Austin

Waymo is closing its operations in the US city of Austin following an increase in investment in the Detroit and Phoenix areas. A spokesperson told Austin Inno: “As a result, we’ve decided to relocate all Austin positions to Detroit and Phoenix. We are working closely with employees, offering them the opportunity to transfer, as well as with our staffing partners to ensure everyone receives transition pay and relocation assistance.” Last month Waymo sent an email to users, which appeared on Reddit, saying
November 15, 2019 Read time: 1 min

Waymo is closing its operations in the US city of Austin following an increase in investment in the Detroit and Phoenix areas.

A spokesperson told Austin Inno: “As a result, we’ve decided to relocate all Austin positions to Detroit and Phoenix. We are working closely with employees, offering them the opportunity to transfer, as well as with our staffing partners to ensure everyone receives transition pay and relocation assistance.”

Last month Waymo sent an email to users, which appeared on Reddit, saying that it may start operating fully-autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Phoenix and Arizona without a safety driver.

Earlier this year, the company entered into an agreement to deploy 10 AVs on Lyft’s platform to serve as a ride-hailing service in the Metro Phoenix area.

Related Content

  • San Francisco bans facial recognition software
    May 15, 2019
    Lawmakers in San Francisco have voted to outlaw the use of facial recognition tools. It is a move which will have implications for police surveillance – and also for transit agencies. It was reported last year that Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) was considering the introduction of face recognition software on its cameras, for example – but Bart will not now be able to do so. The 8-to-1 vote by the Board of Supervisors means San Francisco is the first city in the US to take this step – and the decis
    Read More
  • Roadside infrastructure key to in-vehicle deployment
    November 28, 2013
    The implementation of in-vehicle systems will require multilateral cooperation, as Honda’s Sue Bai explains to Colin Sowman. Vehicle manufacturers will shape the future direction of in-vehicle ITS systems, but they can’t do it on their own. So to find out what they see on the horizon, and the obstacles they face, ITS International spoke to Sue Bai, principal engineer in the Automobile Technology Research Department with Honda R&D Americas. Not only does she play an important role in Honda’s US-based ITS
    Read More
  • Uber establishes JV in South Korea 
    October 30, 2020
    Uber is to combine its ride-hailing tech with T Map Mobility's network of drivers
    Read More
  • Ride sharing services increase traffic, says Schaller Consulting
    August 1, 2018
    Ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, also called transportation network companies (TNC), are increasing congestion in US cities, says Schaller Consulting. The transport consultancy’s latest report reveals TNCs add 2.6 new vehicle miles on the road for each mile of personal driving removed, increasing driving on city streets by 160%. Called The New Automobility: Lyft, Uber and the Future of American Cities, the document combines research and data from a national travel survey to create a detailed
    Read More

Highlighted Content