Waymo Self-Driving Cars to Shuttle Walmart Customers in Phoenix

Waymo is bringing more convenience to early riders in Phoenix, Ariz.

As office of a new test pilot launching later this week, Google parent company Alphabet's cocky-driving motorcar partition volition begin transporting riders to and from Walmart stores in the Metro Phoenix area to pick up their grocery orders. Riders participating in the pilot can snag savings when ordering groceries via Walmart.com. A driverless Waymo vehicle will then pick up the client and bulldoze them to the store where they can collect their groceries.

"We know from our early riders that almost of their rides are to run errands, shop for groceries, commute to work, head to dinner, or gear up their personal vehicles," the Waymo team wrote in a Wednesday blog post.

Waymo is also teaming with shopping center owner DDR Corp. to bring people to and from the Ahwatukee Foothills Towne Center in Chandler, Ariz. then they can "avoid the stress of parking lots," the company wrote. Another new partnership with the Element Hotel in Chandler will give "select guests" access to Waymo vehicles for a "VIP feel." Waymo said this could come in handy for "business travelers who need to commute to and from the office during frequent stays."

The company is also expanding its existing partnerships with AutoNation and Avis Budget Group in Phoenix. AutoNation already services Waymo vehicles and Avis charges, refuels, and cleans them. Both companies will at present be making the autonomous vehicles available to their customers.

"While customers are having their personal vehicles serviced, AutoNation volition now offer them a Waymo, rather than a loaner auto, to become around," Waymo wrote. Meanwhile, Avis "volition also soon provide Waymos equally a last mile solution for Avis customers in Phoenix to help them pick upward or drop off their rental cars."

Waymo launched its early rider plan in April 2022, and now transports more than than 400 riders around the Phoenix area every 24-hour interval.

"While these are Metro Phoenix-specific partnerships today, these businesses are national and what we larn from these programs will give us a network of partners when we launch in new cities down the route," Waymo wrote.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag'due south practiced on fettle and smart home products. Teaching yoga for nearly 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected wellness products including fitness trackers, heart rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, forcefulness preparation machines, treadmills, and more. Angela also tests smart home devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, just to proper name a few.