Waymo is opening a robotaxi service in Nashville, in partnership with Lyft

I entered Waymo Nashville for several monthsfirst driving manually, then testing self-driving software with a human safety agent behind the wheel – all in preparation for launching a robotaxi service in the city. That day has arrived, making Nashville the 11th city where the public can hail a Waymo robotaxi.

Waymo said Tuesday it has opened its robotics service to the public. However, Waymo is still taking a slow-rolling approach. Waymo spokesman Chris Pappas told TechCrunch that the company will begin inviting riders on a rolling basis to allow it to “expand thoughtfully while delivering a consistent, high-quality experience.”

Waymo will initially operate in a 60-square-mile area in Nashville. Pappas did not reveal exactly how many automated taxis would serve that area, only indicating that the company had “dozens of vehicles” available in Nashville.

The Nashville launch also comes with a partner. But this time, it’s not Uber, the ride-hailing company that has partnered with Waymo in Austin, Atlanta and Phoenix. Lyft is Waymo’s partner in Nashville, and there’s a noticeable difference in how the service works in the city.

In Nashville, passengers will initially request their rides directly through the Waymo app. Once the service expands, Waymo will also make its self-driving vehicles available through the Lyft app. Lyft said it will handle fleet services, such as vehicle uptime and maintenance, charging infrastructure, and warehouse operations, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Flexdrive.

This is in contrast to Waymo’s partnership with Uber in Atlanta and Austin. In those cities, customers have to use the Uber app in hopes of being matched with a bot, not a human driver. In Nashville, potential customers will have two ways to ride a robotaxi.

Waymo has taken a hybrid approach to operations, partnering with companies to help manage fleets and ride-hailing networks in most cities, while mostly going it alone in others, such as San Francisco. For example, Avis is Handling general warehouse operationsincluding charging and maintaining Waymo vehicles in Dallas. Moove, an African fintech and mobility startup, It operates its own self-driving vehicles in Phoenix, and is expected to do the same when Waymo launches in London.

The partnerships signal Waymo’s desire to become a technology supplier, not an operator. At least in the long term. For now, Waymo It continues to expandand at a faster pace than the previous year. The Alphabet-owned company now operates robo-taxi services — self-driving vehicles that transport people for a fee — in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, and Phoenix. Saint Anthonyand the San Francisco Bay Area. And with 16 billion dollars And in the new capital, things are not likely to slow down.