Baltimore has been added to the list of U.S. cities that will welcome autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo to its streets.
Manual driving tests of Waymo vehicles begin this week. There will be a phased approach before fully autonomous rides are allowed in the city.
Waymo, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, currently offers driverless rides in five cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta. Testing was also announced Wednesday for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Tests are already underway in additional cities, including New York.
Driverless rides in Baltimore
“Maryland has a long, proud tradition of embracing innovation and driving discovery,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a written statement Wednesday. “This new partnership with Waymo marks the next chapter in that story — and it’s going to help spur growth, make our roads safer, and get more Marylanders from where they live to where opportunity lies.”…