Waymo’s fully-automated shuttles are picking up riders around Phoenix

Waymo is now offering limited "rider-only" trips in Phoenix, Arizona, Chief Executive John Krafcik told reporters this weekend. At the moment, the fully-autonomous ridesharing service is only available to a few hundred early users.

At the beginning of the month, Waymo said it was close to offering autonomous rides with no backup driver. This announcement suggests that it's plans are on schedule. Unfortunately, Waymo has not confirmed when it will open the driverless rides to all customers in Phoenix, and users who have signed up for the service have signed non-disclosure agreements.

Krafcik noted that Waymo has opened the world's first factory dedicated to L4 autonomous driver integration. The company is also testing its automated driver technology on Peterbilt trucks, as it looks to expand into trucking and commercial deliveries, Reuters reports. "We think trucking is a really interesting application of the Waymo driver," Krafcik said.