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Waymo, Avis Budget Partner on Self-Driving-Car Test
Rental car giant Avis Budget Group has agreed to provide maintenance services and fleet support for self-driving test vehicles operated in Phoenix by Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo driverless car unit.
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Rental car giant Avis Budget Group has agreed to provide maintenance services and fleet support for self-driving test vehicles operated in Phoenix by Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo driverless car unit.
The nonexclusive deal gives Avis Budget entre into the potentially huge market for personal transportation based on automated vehicles. It also helps accelerate Waymo’s efforts to commercialize the necessary technologies.
Avis Budget says it will provide maintenance service and fleet support for the test program Waymo began in Phoenix two months ago. The company is offering hundreds of selected consumer free rides in Chrysler Pacific minivans that have been equipped with the autonomous-driving systems.
Waymo is deploying a test fleet of 500 such vehicles. Each minivan will have a trained driver on board to take control of the minivan if necessary. Waymo aims to eventually test fully automated vehicles that don’t have a steering wheel or foot control pedals.
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