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Uber customers in Austin may note a young offer when they launch the app and hail a ride : an invitation to sign their interest in a Waymo robotaxi .
For now , this does n’t translate into a Waymo picking them up . But it will before long .
The“interest list,”which launched Wednesday , is part of apartnership between Uber and Waymoto control a robotaxi service in Austin and Atlanta in other 2025 . The armed service is expected to begin before long in Austin , although neither company would share an official start appointment . A Modern co - branded robotaxi was also bring out Wednesday .
The “ Waymo on Uber ” robotaxi service is the former instance of Uber ’s get-up-and-go back into sovereign vehicles . Uber divested of its own autonomous fomite underling , known as Uber ATG , through acomplex dealwith Aurora in December 2020 . Prior to that , ironically , Uber and Waymo were archrivals , going head - to - headspring in lawsuits alleging Uber stole trade secrets belonging to Waymo ( which at the time was part of Google / Alphabet , which today remains a majority shareholder ) — Uber eventuallysettledthesuits .
Uber has spent the past brace of age shoring up its position in theemerging robotaxi market . The company has partner with 14 self-reliant vehicle companies that cover ride - hailing , legal transfer , and trucking — a handful of which are operating commercially . In December , Uber launched robotaxi ride with WeRide in Abu Dhabi and Waymo ’s sovereign vehicles have been available on theUber app in Phoenixsince October 2023 .
But in Austin and Atlanta , the organization with Waymo will be more exclusive .
Under the partnership , only Uber user will be able to hail Waymo ’s fleet of autonomous Jaguar I - PACE vehicles . ( Waymo has operate its fleet in Phoenix and is now in the mental process ofhanding that business over to Moove . ) Uber will handle the charging , maintenance , and cleanup of the self-directed vehicles , as well as grapple access to the robotaxis via the app . Waymo will still monitor the technical school and the independent operations , include rider assistance .
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The Waymo robotaxis will be uncommitted to customers within 37 satisfying miles of Austin , including downtown , Hyde Park , and Montopolis . The company say they plan to expand that territory . The Waymo robotaxi fleet will be smaller to start — although Uber would not disclose a figure — and eventually get to century of fomite across both Austin and Atlanta over the next few years .
Uber tell riders who are match with a Waymo will pay the same pace as homo - driven options such as UberX or Uber Comfort .
Customers who sign up for the “ interest list ” will get update from Uber and increase their chances of being matched with a Waymo self-directed vehicle at launching , according to the company . To join , Uber client in Austin need to update the app , then go to setting . From here , customer can come home on drive preferences , where they should see a tilt that includes autonomous vehicle .
