From CNET: Uber is one step closer to letting customers hail a self-driving vehicle in Austin, Texas, through its app. The company on Wednesday opened up its interest list so that curious riders can declare their interest in potentially being matched with a Waymo robotaxi, once that partnership launches "soon" in Austin.
In September, Uber and Waymo, the self-driving arm of Google's parent company Alphabet, announced the expansion of their partnership into Austin and Atlanta, after having already teamed up in Phoenix the year before.
In October, Waymo began allowing a "limited number of early riders" in Austin to hail a robotaxi via its own Waymo One app, noting this was a stepping stone to its commercial launch with Uber in early 2025.
Now it appears Waymo and Uber are one step closer to that official launch. As part of the partnership, Uber will manage tasks like vehicle cleaning and repair, while "Waymo will continue to be responsible for the testing and operation of the Waymo Driver, including roadside assistance and certain rider support functions," the companies said in a previous statement. (In Atlanta, Waymo has said public riders can catch a driverless ride via the Uber app starting sometime this year.)
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