Waymo has started giving select riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco access to its newest robotaxi: an all-electric, minivan-like vehicle that is designed to lower costs and handle the use and abuse of hundreds of thousands of riders.
Waymo said Thursday it will eventually expand access to the vehicle, a modified Zeekr-made minivan called the Ojai (pronounced oh-hi), to more riders and cities. For now, the Alphabet-owned company is offering a limited number of customers free rides in the Ojai to gather feedback and further refine the robotaxi experience.
The launch of the Ojai comes after years of development and testing — all in the pursuit of creating a vehicle that is accessible, comfortable, easy-to-maintain, and that importantly costs less to build and operate.
Its arrival also comes amid a challenging time for Waymo, which recently suspended robotaxi service on freeways in Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and San Francisco to improve how its vehicles behave in construction zones. Waymo also paused services in Atlanta, Georgia and San Antonio, Texas to address problems with flooding in those cities.
The launch of the blue-hued minivan might not wipe the slate clean for Waymo, but it does give the company a real chance at scale and revenue generation.
