Waymo expands transportation service in the East Valley

CHANDLER, Ariz. (FOX 10) -- The day is fast approaching when there will be no one sitting behind the wheel of a car driving next to you. Waymo is moving in that direction, and the company is already offering autonomous transportation services in the Valley.

People with Android devices can join a waitlist, and sign up to ride the new Waymo autonomous fleet. While some are mistrustful of cars totally controlled by computers, others are excited to try the technology.

Waymo officials said it has more than 100 autonomous vehicles operating in the Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, and Gilbert areas. These are the only cities offering the commercial ride service for transportation in the country.

On Tuesday, FOX 10's Linda Williams took a ride in the autonomous car, which features a trained driver to monitor the trip. An approximately four-mile trip to the Chandler library cost nearly $9.

As for how residents in the area are taking to the new service, Kenny Jackson was not sure about the driverless vehicles.

"I would have to see the person, I would have to to have a trust of who's controlling the vehicle," said Jackson.

Matthew Staus, however, says he would take his daughter, because he trusts the technology.

"Absolutely," said Staus. "Statistically, the number of accidents caused by autonomous driving vehicles is significantly lower than the 16-year-old texting next to us."

The app is not yet available for Apple iOS operating system.

Waymo App on Google App Store (for Android devices)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waymo.carapp