Waymo and Uber end robotaxi pilot in Phoenix

Waymo robotaxi rides are no longer available via the Uber app in Phoenix, Arizona, the companies confirmed on Monday.

“Phoenix was our first pilot market with Waymo and was an intentionally limited deployment, reaching just over a dozen vehicles dedicated to the program,” Uber said in a statement. “We learned a lot from that collaboration, which helped us to quickly scale Austin and Atlanta, where hundreds of Waymo AVs are available exclusively on Uber and our coverage area continues to expand.”

The end of the robotaxi pilot program raises questions about Uber’s dominance in a future of self-driving services.

Uber execs have pitched the company as the crucial platform that robotaxi players will need to rely on to tap demand. The ride-hailing giant has inked partnerships with every major autonomous vehicle developer, with the exception of Tesla.

Tesla’s fledgling robotaxi service is operating with a very limited fleet of just 69 registered, automated vehicles in Texas today.

Waymo said in a statement that the Uber initiative “was a productive pilot that paved the way for future expansions and partnerships across the globe.”

The autonomous vehicles that the Google sister company deployed for the Phoenix Uber pilot will remain in use there, and will make autonomous deliveries via DoorDash, which competes with Uber Eats.

Waymo, which operates a fleet of about 4,000 automated vehicles in the U.S., makes its driverless rides available exclusively via Uber in Austin and Atlanta today. In nine other cities, Waymo’s robotaxi passenger rides are primarily available via its own app, and in a limited way through public transit partnerships.

Waymo plans to offer its robotaxi rides through Lyft in Nashville later this year without exclusivity.

Autonomous vehicle industry researcher Grayson Brulte, founder of Autmny AI, brought attention to the end of the companies’ work together in Phoenix in a social media post on Monday. The pilot program had concluded about a month ago.

Uber said it plans to partner with another AV company in Phoenix but did not disclose which one.

Last fall, Tesla obtained a permit allowing it to operate a ride-hailing service in Arizona, a step towards its promises to build a massive robotaxi service in the US. The company also obtained a permit in Arizona for testing autonomous vehicles with a human safety driver on board.

In March, Amazon-owned Zoox said it would be testing with hopes to expand its driverless ride-hailing services to Phoenix this year.

During a first-quarter earnings call, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi touted Uber’s partnerships in the driverless vehicle space, including deals with Rivian, Zoox, China’s Pony.AI and Croatia’s Verne.

“AV Mobility trips on Uber increased more than 10x year over year, and we are now live in eight cities, with plans to expand to up to 15 by year-end,” he said.

Waymo is by far the leader in the U.S.,…