Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER.US) and Waymo collaborate to launch self-driving taxi services in Austin city!

Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER.US) will begin offering Alphabet's (GOOGL.US) Waymo autonomous taxi service to its users in Austin, Texas starting on Tuesday. This marks the formal launch of their partnership. It is reported that Uber Technologies, Inc. and Waymo announced an expanded partnership last September, with plans to launch autonomous taxi services in Austin and Atlanta starting from early 2025. In a statement on Tuesday, Uber Technologies, Inc. stated that its users can now be matched with Waymo autonomous taxis for free. When a nearby Waymo autonomous taxi is dispatched to pick up a passenger, the Uber Technologies, Inc. app will send a notification informing the user that the ride will be provided by an autonomous vehicle, while also offering the option to switch to a human-driven car. The introduction of this autonomous taxi service is likely to be welcomed by passengers eager to try out the latest technology. The ride-hailing giant, Uber Technologies, Inc., is ambitiously looking to expand its share in the rapidly growing autonomous driving market. Uber Technologies, Inc. has previously halted its costly development of autonomous driving technology and shifted its autonomous driving strategy towards partnerships with autonomous vehicle manufacturers, software developers, and local fleet operators. Currently, Uber Technologies, Inc. has established over a dozen global partnerships to deploy autonomous driving technology in its ride-sharing, delivery, and freight operations. Uber Technologies, Inc. first offered Waymo's ride and delivery services in Phoenix, Arizona in 2023. While Waymo also provides ride services through its own app in Phoenix, Uber Technologies, Inc. announced last fall that its app will be the sole platform providing Waymo ride services in Austin. Starting from this summer, Uber Technologies, Inc.'s app will also be the exclusive platform for Waymo's ride services in Atlanta. Despite their partnership, there is also competition between Uber Technologies, Inc. and Waymo. It is reported that Waymo provides 200,000 ride services per week in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, where users can book rides through Waymo's own app. Waymo also plans to launch services in Miami early next year through its own app. Meanwhile, competition also comes from Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) CEO Musk has stated that Tesla, Inc. will launch autonomous ride services in Austin in June to compete with Uber Technologies, Inc. and Waymo.