How Chandler became the center of the self-driving cars industry

By: AZ Big Media 

Chandler was the first city in the nation to host a driverless ride-hailing service when Waymo One opened in 2020. Now, Waymo has competition. Cruise, under General Motors, opened their new robotaxi service in Chandler to a limited market late last year.

In the past few years, Chandler, Arizona has gained a reputation as a key city in the developing industry of self-driving cars. Both companies, Waymo and Cruise, have headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, but they chose Chandler as an early testing location for their services.

Chandler helps develop self-driving cars

Mark Stewart, a member of the Chandler City Council, said that the city’s role in the testing and development of these vehicles has improved the reputation of Chandler as a city that is “open to innovation.”

Stewart has spoken on Chandler’s role in the autonomous vehicle industry on several occasions, including talks at Princeton and at a conference held by the International Association of Transportation Regulators.

In these talks, Stewart cites three reasons why Chandler has become such an important testing ground for autonomous vehicles: great infrastructure, a focus on public safety, and a community that is receptive to new technologies.

Stewart argues that this new technology will make Chandler’s roads safer and will make its citizens more productive.  He likens self-driving cars to autopilot on airplanes and says that autonomous vehicles have some inherent advantages over human drivers.

“Waymo doesn’t get distracted, doesn’t drive impaired, and doesn’t have to deal with passengers yelling at it from the back seat.” said Stewart.

When Waymo first started to explore Chandler as a testing ground, Stewart said they first went to state and local governments, and then went to their public safety divisions.

Stewart said that when Waymo went looking to find a city to test their self-driving cars in, their focus on safety sold him on the idea.

“[Waymo] said ‘We’re not a tech company, we’re a safety company,’” said Stewart.

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