Waymo launches nation's first commercial self-driving taxi service in Arizona

On the chilly October day the New York City subway opened in 1904, the marvel of engineering and grit was greeted with horns, steam sirens and stations overrun by thousands of revelers. "Fast Trains in Tubes," blared one headline. On Wednesday, 114 years later in sun-swept Arizona, the launch of the 21st-century equivalent came in a blog post and an email invitation. Google offshoot Waymo announced it is launching the nation's first commercial self-driving taxi service in this and other Phoenix suburbs. The 24/7 service, dubbed Waymo One, will let customers summon self-driving minivans by a smartphone app, a la Uber or Lyft. Waymo's move comes after nearly a decade of development, more than a billion dollars in investment, and 10 million miles of testing on public roads.