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The Robotaxi company Waymo said Tuesday that it is completing more than 100,000 paid rides a week, a major milestone for the self-driving car company that has faced widespread skepticism from consumers.
Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra N. Mawakana made the announcement on LinkedInsaid the company, which belongs to Alphabet (GOOGL)“Creating a safer future one trip at a time.” In May, the company was making 50,000 trips per week.
“Congratulations to the entire Waymo team on this incredible milestone and thank you to our drivers who make this journey possible,” Mawakana wrote.
alphabet (GOOGL) has fully committed himself to the company and promised up to 5 billion US dollars to fund and expand Waymo in July.
Waymo’s cars are currently in operation in Phoenix, Austin, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
On Monday, Waymo announced the “6th generation Waymo Driver,” saying it had reduced the cost of its latest system and made the vehicle more spacious for passengers, as well as saying the new generation could operate in harsh weather.
But the company is facing stiff opposition. Regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are currently investigating more than 20 reports of Waymo cars that have either caused accidents or violated safety regulations. And many people simply don’t feel comfortable getting into a car without a driver.
Still, Waymo insists it is improving road safety, as 94% of all accidents in the U.S. are caused by human error. More than 36,000 people die in car crashes in the U.S. each year. The company is committed to reducing that number.
