Waymo expands curbside robotaxi service hours at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to 24/7
Aug 28, 2024, 4:35 AM
Waymo expanded Phoenix airport terminal service hours, making its robotaxis available curbside 24 hours a day. (Waymo Photo)
(Waymo Photo)
PHOENIX – Travelers can now catch Waymo robotaxis to and from the terminals at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport 24 hours a day.
“Offering fully autonomous rides directly to airport terminals 24/7 is another groundbreaking milestone for Waymo One. We’re grateful to our partners at Sky Harbor for working with us every step of the way to enable these critical pickup and drop-off locations for our riders,” Brad Gillette, Phoenix market lead for Waymo, said in a statement Tuesday.
Waymo is taking off at @PHXSkyHarbor! Starting today, we're offering all riders 24/7 curbside pickups and dropoffs. And this week, we'll surpass 100K airport trips served to date. Prefer PHX Sky Train? No worries, we still serve the 24th and 44th St stations, too! pic.twitter.com/pszKCR1Tpa
— Waymo (@Waymo) August 27, 2024
Waymo One, the world’s first driverless ride-hailing service, has been offering curbside service at Terminals 3 and 4 since December 2023, but only during off-peak hours.
Since then, the company has been working with city and airport officials to safely expand availability.
“Sky Harbor is the first airport in the country to offer this service, and we are excited to just continue to improve options and service at Phoenix Sky Harbor,” Mayor Kate Gallego said in a video posted to social media.
Great news for Phoenix residents and visitors alike! @Waymo is now offering 24/7 curbside drop-offs at @PHXSkyHarbor. Phoenix continues to lead in innovative and exciting travel experiences. I got to check out the new feature for myself. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/SeXYOaoowz
— Mayor Kate Gallego (@MayorGallego) August 27, 2024
How long has Waymo provided Phoenix airport service?
Waymo said it will complete its 100,000th Phoenix airport trip this week. The autonomous SUVs started picking up and dropping off riders at the airport’s PHX Sky Train stations in December 2022.
The company that started as Google’s self-driving vehicle unit has been expanding its capabilities incrementally since debuting in October 2022 with a service area that covered about 50 square miles in and around Chandler.
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Passengers can hail the robotaxis through a mobile app, similar to how Uber and Lyft work. The vehicles don’t yet take riders onto freeways, but testing is underway to add that capability.
The service area has grown to 315 square miles, covering parts of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and Chandler.
The latest 90-mile expansion in June of this year included a portion of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale. It was the autonomous ride-hailing industry’s first entry into tribal land.
