The first U.S. commercial ride-hailing service without human drivers has been approved.
Waymo, a unit of Alphabet Inc., got a permit in late January from the Arizona Department of Transportation to operate as a Transportation Network Company, according to Ryan Harding, a spokesman at the state agency.
The designation lets Waymo’s fleet of driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivans pickup and drop off paying riders in Arizona through a smartphone app or website, the spokesman said.
Waymo is a pioneer in autonomous vehicles, however rivals including Uber and General Motors Co.’s Cruise division are racing to catch up.
The technology is still being tested in many regions, but it could transform the way people move around, especially in cities, potentially making the nascent industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
