Waymo providing truly accessible service, for now

While all of the robotaxi companies have touted how much their vehicles will supposedly help all people with disabilities, only Waymo is truly making a concerted effort. Waymo is providing a completely separate service called Wheelchair-Accessible-Vehicles, or WAV for short. The passenger uses the regular Waymo app to request an accessible vehicle.

For now the WAV service is free of charge. They have not stated how long the service will remain to be free, though.

An actual person to help

The Waymo WAV service uses actual people to drive the accessible vehicles. This means that the vehicle will pull over to an appropriate place to pick you up and drop you off, unlike an autonomous vehicle. And the drivers can assist you in entering and exiting the vehicle, securing your chair and person, and driving you to your destination.

Appropriate service animal rules

it is also telling, and greatly appreciated, that Waymo has appropriate rules with respect to service animals. They clearly understand and indicate what is and what is not a service animal.

Only a dog or miniature horse that has been trained to perform work or tasks for a person with a disability are service animals. All other animals, including emotional support or therapy animals, are not allowed to ride in our cars.

Working with accessibility organizations

Waymo is working with accessibility organizations to better understand everyone’s needs. They are partnering with NorCal SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) to learn more.

Cruise, not so accommodating

Though Cruise had long been touting their driverless Origin vehicle, it is not truly accessible, plus it has now been discontinued. It seems that their efforts were mostly for marketing, not for accessibility. In fact, here is a marketing picture of a Cruise vehicle, one that is egregiously parked in an accessible parking space. Not appreciated!