Waymo to Test Vehicles With Humans at New Jersey Airport
Autonomous Vehicle Company Collaborating With Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for Tests at Newark Airport
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Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo will begin manually testing its autonomous vehicles with human drivers at Newark airport, laying the foundation to eventually ferry passengers to and from the transit hub.
Waymo is collaborating with officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the tests, the company said in an Oct. 22ÌýpostÌýon X.
Waymo conducts such tests in new locales to collect mapping data and train its autonomous technology on local road conditions. The amount of time it takes to actually start offering paid rides to passengers can vary depending on regulations and the public’s reception.
We’re thrilled to collaborate with for manual testing at , as we lay the groundwork for serving regional riders in the future. — Waymo (@Waymo)
Waymo currentlyÌýoperatesÌýfully autonomous rides at the Phoenix airport and will start serving the airport later this year in San Jose, Calif. Being able to offer ride hailing at airports — not just urban centers — is a key goal of the driverless car company. Air travelers can be a major source of business, but the move requires close coordination with authorities to avoid congestion at busy pickup and drop-off points.
The Newark announcement builds on Waymo’s mapping work and testing of its vehicles in New York City, which began in July. The city’s Department of TransportationÌýextendedÌýWaymo’s testing permit through the end of the year. Under theÌýpermit, Waymo is allowed to test as many as eight of its cars in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn with a trained specialist behind the wheel.
Waymo has been operating rides in five cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. But it won’t be able to launch a commercial service in New York because the city and state don’t offer a permit for fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing services.
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