PHOENIX — Waymo has been offering its “rider-only” ride-hailing service in downtown Phoenix since August of this year, and now users of the service can soon catch a driverless ride from downtown to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and back.
The company, a subsidiary of Google owner Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL) announced the new service Tuesday, saying the downtown program has been another successful step in its steady expansion of service in the Valley.
“Phoenix holds a special place in our hearts at Waymo, as it’s where we were the first company to launch a public ride-hail service with no human behind the wheel over two years ago,” Waymo said in a company blog post. “That’s why we’re excited to take the next step by initiating the industry’s first-ever paid trips to and from an airport, with an autonomous specialist present for now, at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, starting today.”
The company also pointed to the huge commercial opportunity that the new service presents, saying that airports have historically accounted for 20% of trips for traditional ride-hailing services and that Sky Harbor is one of the busiest airports in the world.
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