Waymo expands test drives to Chicago and Charlotte

Looking for a ride in a robotaxi? If you live in Chicago, Illinois and Charlotte, North Carolina, in the not-so-distant future you could be driving around your city in an autonomous car.

According to the message TechCrunchapparently has been confirmed Driven by locals who have spotted the cars in their area, Waymo is currently conducting test drives in two cities.

Waymo’s test phase deploys Waymo vehicles with human drivers in cities where the Google-owned company wants to roll out its ride-hailing service. During this phase, Waymo effectively draws knowledge from human drivers to best understand the terrain.

Local road conditions, traffic patterns and edge cases are all analyzed and mapped so that autonomous vehicles are prepared for the terrain. After months of testing, Waymo will begin testing a driverless version of the service. If all goes well, that will be followed by the launch of the full Waymo experience, where you’ll drive a driverless car in the Waymo app around town.

Earlier this month, Waymo finished First round of testing in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville will now see driverless taxis on its streets. Waymo’s testing is also underway in London, Washington, D.C., and Denver.

The full service is currently available in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as Phoenix. Riders can also hail a Waymo ride through Uber partnerships in Austin and Atlanta. Waymo now also operates in Orlando, as well as Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

Waymo continues expansion follows a funding round that raised $16 billion for the company.