Brace yourselves and buckle up. The self-driving taxi fleet from Waymo has officially hit the Tampa streets. The company launched its first public rides today after months of testing, serving roughly 50 square miles of Tampa, spanning from Hyde Park to Northwest Park and Temple Crest, and from Westshore to Highland Pines.
With thousands of riders preregistered, Waymo says it is inviting new riders on a rolling basis, “to ensure a seamless experience as we scale.” You can download the Waymo app now, or learn more on their website here.
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Riders will be picked up and dropped off in Waymo’s Hyundai IONIQ 5, its sixth-generation vehicle and most advanced of the fleet. The Tampa launch sees it join 11 other cities across the U.S. and coincides with the debut of service in San Diego, Las Vegas, and Denver.
In its initial phase in Tampa, Waymo deployed vehicles driven by “specialists” who studied local traffic patterns, pedestrians, complex intersections, and street behavior. The idea: custom maps of lane markers, curb height, and every little detail a car needs to behave like it’s not from Mars.
Here’s the data: Waymo claims some bold safety stats—11 times fewer injury crashes and five times fewer airbag-deploying crashes compared to regular ol’ human-driven vehicles. That doesn’t guarantee perfection, but it’s enough to make even the most concerned dad like what he hears.
So if you’ve ever thought “I’d like a taxi ride that feels like the future,” now’s the time to sign up at waymo.com/updates, watch the streets of Tampa, and prepare for the driver-less dawn.
We’re getting robot cars before GTA6!
