Google's sibling Waymo to start driverless car service next month

Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, will launch the world's first commercial self-driving car service in early December, according to Bloomberg.

Google's sibling company Waymo is starting the world's first commercial self-driving car service in early December, building a direct rival to Uber and Lyft. [File Photo: VCG]

The new ride-hailing service will be a direct competitor with Uber and Lyft, operating under a yet to be announced name.

The vehicles will have the human backup drivers on board at the start of the commercial program to ease customers into the service, but will eventually operate without them.

Despite the program being a big milestone for driverless cars, Waymo is not planning to roll out the service on a large scale. The company will first operate the program with a test group of authorized riders in the suburb of Phoenix, in the United States.