Waymo is making its Southeast Asian debut, introducing an autonomous ride-hailing service in Singapore
In a press release on 18 Sept, Waymo announced plans to debut an autonomous ride-hailing service in Singapore.
This marks the American company’s first entry into Southeast Asia.
Image courtesy of Waymo
Waymo will introduce its fully autonomous, all-electric commercial ride-hailing service in Singapore by 2028.
This is in partnership with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
Fully autonomous, all-electric service
Source: @waymo on Instagram
Since its beginnings as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has provided more than 20 million fully autonomous rides and driven more than 300 million fully autonomous kilometres.
In the United States (US) cities where it operates fully autonomously, Waymo says its vehicles have demonstrated a 95% reduction in crashes causing serious or fatal injuries compared with human drivers in the same areas.
Source: @waymo on Instagram
Expected to be fully implemented by 2028
In the coming months, the first fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles will arrive in Singapore as Waymo establishes its operations locally.
In 2027, Waymo is sending trained autonomous specialists to conduct initial manual driving and adapt the Waymo Driver to local road geometry and monsoon patterns.
By 2028, the public can expect to start trying out Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing services for themselves.
Sustainable enhancement for Singapore’s green future
More than an enhancement to Singapore’s transport, Waymo is also powering Singapore’s green future vision.
Waymo’s 100% electric fleet directly supports the Singapore Green Plan 2030, helping to lower urban carbon emissions while reducing reliance on private car ownership.
Currently, Waymo’s first fleet of electric cars prevents an estimated 480 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from road travel every week.
Source: @waymo on Instagram
An exciting partnership with Singapore and Waymo
This collaboration is the first step in making transport in Singapore more accessible and faster than ever.
Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo, said: “Singapore has built one of the safest, most efficient, and most forward-thinking transportation ecosystems in the world.”
She added: “Their focus on reliability, sustainability, and human-centric progress directly mirrors how we have built Waymo’s technology and service.”
Image courtesy of Waymo
Reflecting on the milestone collaboration, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Jeffrey Siow said: “Singapore welcomes Waymo’s entry as our newest autonomous vehicle operator.”
“Waymo brings world-class technology and operational expertise to Singapore, and will move us towards our vision of creating new transport options for Singaporeans.”
Also read: 1 in 3 S’poreans fight over group trip expenses, 21% refuse to travel with same group again
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Featured image courtesy of Waymo and adapted from Nguyen Huy on Pexels.