Waymo vehicles will return to Arizona roads on Monday as company resumes operations
Ryan Randazzo
Self-driving car company Waymo plans to relaunch its Arizona test fleet Monday with its autonomous ride-share service to follow after shutting down in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
"We’re beginning to restart our driving operations in the metro Phoenix area after careful consideration and active conversations with our teams, partners, and local and state authorities," the company said in a statement Thursday. "The health and safety of our riders, team, and partners are our number one priority as we begin driving again."
Operations in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit will follow in the days and weeks ahead, the company said.
Waymo, formerly known as the Google Self Driving Car Project, has its largest public testing operations based in Chandler and cities east of Phoenix, where dozens of its autonomous minvans can usually be found quietly, slowly, cruising public roads.
Initially, Waymo will only run vehicles with its own employees, but the company plans to resume carrying passengers in the days and weeks ahead as well, Waymo Director of Safety Operations Tracy Murrell said Thursday.
"We’ve spent the last several weeks as many in this area have looking at how we can come back on line safely," Murrell said. "We are ramping up slowly."
The company has a test fleet of about 600 vehicles, most of them operating in Arizona, where Waymo has "hundreds" of employees.
Waymo has continued to pay all Arizona workers during the shutdown and has not laid off or furloughed anyone, Murrell said.
The tests, as well as the ride-share service called Waymo One, stopped in March as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the nation.
As part of a phased-in approach, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has lifted restrictions on in-store retail operations starting Friday and is allowing restaurants to resume dine-in service Monday, with certain precautions.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has guidelines for businesses resuming operations during the pandemic.
"We feel our plans meet or exceed what has been put out by those authorities," Murrell said.
Changes in operations due to virus
Waymo has made several operational changes, like other businesses that are reopening during the pandemic. They include providing enough space for office workers to stay the recommended six feet apart to prevent spreading the virus at work, according to Waymo.
The company also is limiting capacity at its facilities and altering how common areas are shared by workers.
"In line with Arizona guidance, our team will wear face masks in Waymo facilities or vehicles (unless a person is driving alone in the vehicle)," the company said.
The vehicles also are getting multiple cleanings daily, the company said, and Waymo is working with a healthcare company to screen workers and visitors entering Waymo facilities.
Murrell said changes at the Waymo facilities in Chandler and Mesa include moving furniture to separate workers, separating work spaces, creating one-way areas so workers don't walk past each other where they take breaks, and supplying the offices with a variety of cleaning products and sanitizers.
Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter.