Accessibility is something we care deeply about at Waymo, as our mission is to help improve road safety and mobility for all. As this topic is such a core part of what we do, we were honored to make it to the semifinals in the U.S. Department of Transportation Design Challenge. DOT’s goal was to generate design solutions that enable people with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities to use automated vehicles to access jobs, healthcare, and other critical destinations. The DOT is helping to further creative product thinking around inclusive mobility, and we’re proud of the features that we designed and integrated into our Waymo One service.

Waymo has welcomed interns for years at our offices in the US and UK to join us in contributing their expertise to further developing our autonomous driving system and helping us scale our business. While their backgrounds vary greatly, each and every one of our awesome interns brings unique perspectives, a desire to tackle challenging problems, and an interest in improving the world’s access to mobility.

Editor’s note: We caught up with SF Trusted Tester John N., a local small business owner, while he was grabbing some lunch at Zazie (one of his favorite spots in the city!). He clued us in on his love for getting around in our I-PACE vehicles, what he hopes we add to the service next, and his vision for how autonomously driven vehicles can make transportation more equitable across San Francisco.

Editor’s note: Meet another one of our Trusted Testers: Candace, a software engineer who just moved to San Francisco. Learn more about how they’re using the service, what some of their early feedback is, and whether or not this is something they’d recommend to others in the city (spoiler alert: yes!).

Rising shipping demand coupled with a growing shortage of drivers has brought the logistics industry to an inflection point, and the need for an autonomous trucking solution like Waymo Via has never been more apparent. To help accelerate this autonomous future, we’re partnering with Uber Freight to connect our technology with their platform and deploy autonomous trucks across their network.

Editor’s note: Dubbed a “Waymo fan boy” by his family, Ralph uses Waymo One to go work from his local coffee shop daily in Metro Phoenix. He appreciates the convenience of the service and how easy it is for him to get around without his own car. Read on to hear more about how Ralph got involved with Waymo years ago and what it’s like riding today.