About a year ago, Waymo, the self-driving taxi service owned by Alphabet, began offering passenger pick-up and drop-off services at the airport in Phoenix, making it the first autonomous car service to operate within an airport. However, Waymo’s service doesn’t extend right to the terminal building itself. Instead, it drops passengers off at the parking spots of the 44th Street Sky Train, a shuttle service near the airport, requiring passengers to switch to another mode of transport to reach the terminal building.
After a year, Waymo announced that it can now drive passengers directly to the curbside of the terminal building. While this may seem like a routine task for human drivers, it’s a much more challenging endeavor for autonomous vehicles due to the congested traffic conditions at airport curbsides. Consequently, Waymo currently limits this service to late-night hours from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM and to specific terminals at the airport to ensure the utmost safety before expanding its operations further (watch the accompanying video for more details).
Waymo’s continuous progress in this area may seem reminiscent of their major rival in the autonomous vehicle industry, Cruise, a subsidiary of GM. Cruise faced setbacks after being involved in accidents with pedestrians, resulting in the suspension of their permit and the termination of many employees.
TLDR: Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous taxi service, is now offering curbside pick-up and drop-off services at Phoenix airport. While this may seem like a straightforward task, it is a significant milestone for autonomous vehicles due to the complex traffic conditions. Waymo is currently limiting this service to late-night hours and specific terminals to ensure safety before expanding further.
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