By Mike Sunnucks | Phoenix Business Journal
Waymo — the self-driving car arm of Google’s parent company Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) — is hitting Arizona roads with more advanced testing of driverless vehicles.
The new phase has Waymo’s fleet of Chrysler Pacificas driving on East Valley streets without anyone in the driver’s seat. Until this test, Waymo had tested cars in Chandler and other areas of east of Phoenix with an employee sitting behind the wheel.
Now, those workers and as well as the driver part of a pilot project will take to the back seats of Waymo’s fleet.
The Alphabet hopes the latest phase gives it a competitive edge in the worldwide race to roll out autonomous driving cars. That competition includes Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) and Mercedes-Benz.
