Autonomous Deliveries Will Likely Catch on Before Taxis, Says Waymo CEO

True driverless cars have arrived from Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet Inc., but the company’s chief executive officer says robot ride hailing may not be the first form of automotive autonomy to take off commercially.

Waymo has begun running what it calls “rider only” robotaxi rides in the Phoenix, Arizona suburb of Chandler, CEO John Krafcik, said at a dinner with reporters in Detroit Sunday. Yet autonomous vehicles may take hold first in more mundane driverless delivery trucks that travel easily repeatable routes, he said…

Waymo has been developing a self-driving system for big rigs, but its robotaxi service has received more attention after a decade of research by the former Google self-driving project.
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