TAMPA, Fla. — After months of mapping and testing, the driverless car era has officially arrived in Tampa. Waymo is now offering autonomous rides across parts of the Tampa area.
But before the rollout here in Tampa, Good Morning Tampa Bay anchor Andrew Kinsey got to see firsthand the technology in action in Atlanta.
There is no driver, no hands on the wheel, and no foot on the pedals. There are just passengers watching the car doing the driving.
A once-futuristic technology that's taking a little trust when sitting inside.
"Ok, I said I would never do this, but here I am," Kinsey explained.
This is Atlanta, one of the cities where Waymo's driverless vehicles have been rolling around for months.
From the backseat, the experience is remarkably ordinary and even relaxing. The car comes to you, navigates traffic, makes turns, and changes lanes all without a human controlling it.
"It's really incredible, the way it drives; it handles through traffic," Kinsey said.
What Kinsey experienced in Atlanta is now here in Tampa. After months of mapping and testing local roads, Waymo has officially launched its driverless ride service.
It serves nearly 50 square miles of Tampa, with stops at several popular destinations, like Water Street, Armature Works, Ybor City, the Florida Aquarium, and even Raymond James Stadium and Benchmark International.
There are now 14 cities where Waymo is providing riders with driverless trips, with safety records the company claims are nearly better than humans when it comes to serious injuries and crashes.
Technology is becoming part of a much bigger race to reshape how we all get around, with Waymo and other companies betting that autonomous vehicles will eventually become an everyday part of transportation.
About a month ago, Tesla officially launched its Robotaxi service in certain sections of Tampa.
Tampa Bay 28 reached out to Waymo to get details on any future expansion plans. We are told they are in talks with St. Petersburg city officials about expanding across the bay.
