Teenagers Can Now Hail A Waymo Robotaxi In Phoenix

Waymo has started offering teen accounts for families successful Phoenix arsenic it useful to grow its personification guidelines and entrench young riders successful nan autonomous life. 

Waymo’s teen accounts will beryllium akin to those offered by Uber, which besides allows parents to make teen accounts successful Phoenix and different cities crossed nan country. Parents successful Metro Phoenix tin nexus a floor plan to their Waymo One accounts for teenagers aged 14 to 17. The teens will past beryllium capable to bid their ain rides and stock travel position pinch parents. 

Opening up autonomous vehicles to ferry kids could bring bid of mind to immoderate parents who mightiness different balk astatine putting their kid into a car unsocial pinch different adult, moreover though ride-hail companies for illustration Uber opportunity they brace teens pinch highly rated, safe drivers. And successful states for illustration California, wherever ride-hail drivers who carrier kids are required to get fingerprinted, AVs could region immoderate of nan reddish tape. 

That is, if parents spot nan information of an AI-driven car. 

Other information concerns travel to mind erstwhile imagining teenagers riding successful cars alone. While Uber and Lyft opportunity they train their drivers to spot quality trafficking, intersexual abusers person been capable to bypass nan system to carrier minors.

TechCrunch asked Waymo really it’s capable to corroborate that nan teen who is linked to an adult’s relationship is portion of that family, arsenic good arsenic what steps nan institution takes if different riders participate nan conveyance pinch nan teenager.

A Waymo spokesperson did not respond to nan first query. He did opportunity that information is Waymo’s apical priority, arsenic evidenced by nan specially trained support agents disposable to assistance kids during their rides 24/7, who mightiness scope retired to parents for further support if needed. 

In a property release, Waymo emphasized that providing teens pinch a safer mode of proscription via robotaxis would thief reside nan higher consequence of postulation accidents that teenagers face. 

While Waymo is starting successful Phoenix, nan institution said it would grow teen accounts into cities extracurricular of California wherever nan Waymo app is available. Aside from Los Angeles and nan Bay Area, Waymo operates a commercialized robotaxi work via nan Uber app successful Austin and Atlanta, and plans to motorboat successful Miami this twelvemonth and successful Washington, D.C., successful 2026.

A spokesperson said Waymo whitethorn see enabling entree for teens done “network partners” for illustration Uber successful nan future.