Nashville residents may soon be able to hail rides that have no driver in the front seat. A new partnership between Waymo and Lyft will bring fully autonomous, driverless rideshare service to the city. The Waymo vehicles are expected to begin operating in the coming months, with public ordering available next year.
Waymo calls itself the world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service and says its technology is much safer than human drivers in its current operating regions. Lyft will contribute its fleet management experience through its Flexdrive subsidiary.
Riders will be able to request these driverless cars through either the Waymo app or the Lyft app. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he is enthusiastic about the launch in Nashville. He sees this kind of private sector technology as a means to accelerate economic growth for the state.
Waymo is already operating autonomous rideshare service in cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin. It also has plans to expand operations to Miami and Washington D.C. in the future.