The Jaguar I-Pace with Waymo autonomous electric vehicle (EV) is unveiled during an event in New York, on Tuesday, March 27, 2018.
Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Alphabet-owned Waymo is asking San Francisco residents to help test its self-driving cars in the city it hopes will be its second market.
The company said in a blog post it is opening a research-focused program called “Trusted Tester.” Starting Tuesday, residents will be able to sign up in the company’s Waymo One app. Those accepted will be able to hail an all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles and later provide feedback on their rider experience.
The company said it uses the testers to help refine the service. “From using the Waymo One app, to pickup and drop-offs, to the ride itself, we receive valuable feedback from our riders that allows us to refine our product offering as we advance our service,” the company stated. “We kicked off this program last week with a select few and are now expanding the program to all interested San Franciscans.” According to The Verge, riders will need to sign non-disclosure agreements to participate and there will be human drivers behind the wheel as backup.
Waymo began as Google’s self-driving car project, which began testing its technology about a decade ago. It later became a standalone company within Google parent-company Alphabet, and began testing in public in the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area in 2017. It then rolled out a full self-driving taxi service in some parts of that area in 2020. It has tested its self-driving cars in other geographies around the country but has yet to officially roll out to other markets outside of Phoenix.
The expansion comes as some employees have reportedly grown frustrated with the company’s slow pace of expansion. Several members of Waymo staff departed in the last several months, including its former CEO.
The company did not immediately respond to questions about how many testers it will accept or for how long.
