Waymo has been testing self-driving cars without any safety drivers in Phoenix for nearly a year. Waymo will launch the first commercial program in Phoenix within months.
They have applied California regulators to begin testing without safety drivers. The commercial self-driving in California will likely start in 2019.
Waymo is buying 62,000 plug-in hybrid Pacifica minivans and 20,000 electric I-Pace SUVs over the next few years.
Waymo has self-driving commercial Peterbilt Class 8 semi trucks. Google Alphabet is testing the commercial trucks in Atlanta to move equipment between their own buildings.
Waymo is in talks with most of the global carmakers including Chrysler about personal self-driving cars. Personal Waymo self-driving cars will likely start appearing in 2-3 years.
Waymo will also be used for self-driving cars, vans and buses for public transportation. This will start with pickups for the disabled. Currently cities pay $25-50 for each public transportation trips for the disabled. Waymo could cut those costs.
The self-driving car market could be over$1.5 trillion a year by 2030, according to UBS analyst Eric Sheridan. Waymo software have 60% of autonomous cars in 2030 and Google could make $114 billion in revenue, not including the trucking business.
Tasha Keeney, ARK Invest, believes Waymo could charge around 70 cents a mile—a quarter of the cost for Uber passengers in San Francisco. Robotaxis should get down to 35 cents a mile by 2020.
Cruise Automation, the number self-driving car company and unit of GM can see getting prices to less than $1 per mile cost by 2025.
Waymo is safer than teenage and senior driving and should be cheaper than owning a car and paying for insurance.
