Waymo's driverless cars will soon be seen in Phoenix freeways and highways as the company receives approval for expanded commercial operations.
The Alphabet-owned auto vehicle developer announced on Monday that its autonomous Jaguar I-Pace SUVs will enter its testing on one of the largest metropolitan areas in the US.
Waymo cars will start to shuttle employees around the city in the following weeks.
An autonomous ride-hailing service for curbside drop-off and pickup was already launched at the Phoenix airport last December as Waymo focuses more on ride-hailing services.
Waymo spent over a year testing the driverless vehicles before releasing it to public use.
According to the company's report, only three incidents were recorded during its initial operations. All three only involved minor injuries.
Also Read: Waymo Only Has Three Minor Injuries After 7.1 Million Miles of Driverless Operations
Waymo Prepares for Fully Autonomous Vehicles
The recent testing follows Waymo's plan to remove autonomous specialists from their operations, transitioning to a fully autonomous vehicle.
California regulators have already given approval for Waymo to operate around-the-clock services as the state heads to an autonomous ride-hailing economy.
The company has even partnered with Uber for a dedicated autonomous car service to show that the vehicles are truly safe for both passengers and pedestrians.
Waymo intends to optimize its services to increase its availability for all customers in the future.
It is uncertain when the test trials will finish but Waymo assured that it will "ensure we have a comprehensive understanding of the environment we plan to operate and our system's capabilities."
Waymo One will be available for San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
Related Article: Uber Rolls Out Rides in Autonomous Waymo Cars
Arizona Closely Monitors Progress of Self-Driving Vehicles
The Arizona government said it will be closely monitoring the testing and use of the self-driving cars to prevent the same incident that happened with Waymo competitor Cruise.
In a statement last year, the Arizona Department of Transportation said that "public safety is our highest priority" in deciding to allow driverless companies to operate in the state.
The state government has yet to say if its other metropolitan cities will also be eligible for Waymo cars in the coming future.
It remains unclear if Arizona will adopt the same traffic ticket exemption driverless cars experience in California.
