Waymo Offers Riders $2.85 to Combine Robotaxi and Public Transport
Waymo will issue $2.85 in credit to San Francisco Bay Area riders who take a robotaxi and a public transport journey within two hours of each other, provided they pay with a Visa card. In Hamburg, the transit operator itself arranges the connection and lists the autonomous vehicles in its app.
The program starts in the San Francisco Bay Area, with employees eligible first, followed by the public in the coming weeks. The reward is subject to using a Visa card.
Riders must link a Visa card in the Waymo app, and the scheme is available across 27 Bay Area transport agencies that accept contactless tap-to-pay.
Waymo will lease 40 dedicated parking spaces at Caltrain stations to stage vehicles for arriving passengers, with plans to expand the arrangement with other agencies. California's transport secretary and the mayor of San Jose both welcomed the initiative.
Meanwhile, in Hamburg, Hamburger Hochbahn, the city's transit operator, leads an autonomous shuttle project using Volkswagen's MOIA. The service is bookable through both the transit authority's app and MOIA's.
Waymo aims to expand to Germany next year, with mapping of Munich beginning in August, targeting commercial service by late 2027. The company has not yet announced a public transport arrangement for Munich.
In London, Uber and Wayve launched the city's first robotaxi service, booked through Uber, with a safety driver in each car. The ownership of the app determines the passenger's experience, a model followed in Hamburg. Waymo has not specified its approach for Munich.
By Darius Popa, Technology Enthusiast and Intern at The Next Web.