Waymo’s cars cut out humans in road tests

SAN FRANCISCO — The self-driving car is edging closer to becoming driverless.

Waymo, the autonomous car company from Google’s parent company Alphabet, has started testing a fleet of self-driving vehicles without any backup drivers on public roads, its chief executive officer said Tuesday. The tests, which will include passengers within the next few months, mark an important milestone that brings autonomous vehicle technology closer to operating without any human intervention.

Dozens of companies are testing self-driving technology on public roads across the United States and some autonomous features are available in today’s cars. But Waymo is believed to be the first company to test vehicles on public roads without a driver ready to take over in an emergency.

“Our ultimate goal is to bring our fully self-driving technology to more cities in the U.S. and around the world,” John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief, said in prepared remarks at a technology conference in Portugal on Tuesday. “Fully self-driving cars are here.”

The tests are a show of engineering prowess by Waymo at a time when traditional automakers and other tech companies like Uber race to develop similar vehicles.

Waymo is limiting the trials to a region around Phoenix, where it has been conducting a ride-testing program this year, and plans to expand the testing area over time. The company said it planned to use the driverless vehicles to launch a commercial ride-hailing service for the general public, but did not offer any detail on when, where or how.

Waymo said its driverless cars hit public roads last month.

While the prospect of cars without emergency drivers may raise concerns among some passengers, Waymo said it had confidence in the safety of its self-driving technology. It has included backup systems like a secondary computer to take over if the main computer fails. And though the cars are driverless, they are not entirely without humans, at least for now. Waymo employees sit in the back seat of the cars, monitoring them, a company spokesman, Johnny Luu, said.

Once passengers join the tests, they will be able to contact Waymo support staff with a button inside the car. If the cars are involved in a crash, they are programmed to respond appropriately, including pulling off the road on their own.