Alphabet’s Waymo and ride-hailing company Lyft have announced a partnership to begin offering autonomous cab rides in Nashville next year. Initially, riders in the “Music City” will be able to summon driverless taxis using the Waymo app. As the service expands, the companies stated that riders will also be able to use the Lyft app to match with a Waymo vehicle.
As part of the agreement, Lyft will invest an undisclosed amount in a dedicated facility for fleet management, where it will be responsible for charging and maintaining the Waymo vehicles. Both companies anticipate that Lyft’s services will help maximize the operational time of Waymo’s fleet and reduce overall costs. This marks the first commercial rollout of Waymo’s driverless taxis on the Lyft ride-hailing network. Waymo currently provides rides in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta through the Uber app.
The company expects its fleet in Nashville to expand to hundreds of vehicles over time. Waymo has been rapidly scaling its operations across the U.S. as the competition in the robotaxi sector intensifies. Tesla, for instance, launched a limited robotaxi service in Austin in June and plans to extend it to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Following its debut in Phoenix in 2020, Waymo now offers paid driverless rides to the public in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in parts of Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. In addition to the Nashville launch, the company has future expansion plans for Miami, Washington, D.C., Dallas, and Denver. It also recently secured a permit to begin testing its autonomous vehicles in New York City, with a trained specialist present behind the wheel.
