Oct. 16 (UPI) — U.S.-based driverless taxi pioneer Waymo tested its new Jaguar-brand taxis in the Bronx, N.Y., on Thursday and plans to deploy them in London during the upcoming year.
London would become the first European city to OK autonomous taxi services, which already are available in U.S. cities San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Phoenix, according to AutoTrade.ie.
Mountain View, Calif.-headquartered Waymo is partnering with Amsterdam-based Moove to expand its autonomous taxi service to London in the spring.
Moove officials are negotiating related licensing and other matters with London officials and would serve as Waymo’s fleet operations partner, engadget reported.
Moove already operates a mobility business in London and has the experience and knowledge needed to enable Waymo to successfully expand its services to England’s capital city.
“We’re excited by a future where Waymo’s safe and reliable autonomous technology is available in London,” Ladi Delano, Moove co-chief executive officer, said Wednesday in a news release.
“This partnership represents a major step forward for urban mobility, bringing world-class innovation to one of the world’s greatest cities,” Delano added.
Waymo has partnered with Bronx Community College and City College of New York’s University Transportation Research Center to develop and improve a training curriculum for autonomous vehicles.
“This AV training curriculum bridges cutting-edge technology with practical workforce development [while] addressing real-world challenges in our communities,” UTRC director Camille Kamga said.
Waymo Vice President of Engineering Satish Jeyachandran said the partnership with Bronx Community College and the UTRC will prepare students for new career opportunities in the growing autonomous vehicle industry.
The partnership also enables the development and deployment of safety-oriented autonomous vehicles in New York City and elsewhere, New York State Assemblywoman Yudelka Tapia said.
“Retraining for-hire and taxi drivers and welcoming new talent into the workforce will ensure a smooth transition that creates new career opportunities,” Tapia added.
The collaborative program will be housed at the community college’s Patterson Garage, where a $9 million upgrade recently was completed with funding from the New York governor’s office.