Waymo to roll out self-driving ride-hailing fleet in Phoenix later this year.

USA Today (10/10, Cava, 11.57M) reports that “later this year...Waymo, plans an historic first: offering a self-driving, ride-hailing fleet to the public in the city of Phoenix.” Following the fatal incident involving an Uber self-driving vehicle in Phoenix last spring and “a series of Tesla crashes involving that automakers’ Autopilot system, AAA reported that 73 percent of poll respondents said they would be too afraid to ride in a fully self-driving vehicle, up from 63 percent in late 2017,” which makes Waymo’s safety record stand out in that none of its vehicles have caused a “major accident.” Waymo CEO John Krafcik told USA TODAY, “Our test program in Phoenix has opened our eyes to so many real-world scenarios that we hadn’t thought about.” He added, “So while that first 10 million miles has been totally about safety, now the next 10 million can also focus on an improved rider experience.”