Waymo, the self-driving taxi service run by Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL), has launched a new premier subscription service in select U.S. cities.
Called “Waymo Premier,” the plan costs $29.99 U.S. per month and is available to frequent users of the robotaxi service in the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, Arizona.
For that monthly fee, subscribers get priority pick-ups, up to five free cancellations per month, and will earn 10% back in loyalty credits, or “Waymo Cash,” for each trip they take.
The premier service is being launched as Waymo aggressively expands across the U.S. and tries to stay ahead of rivals such as Tesla (TSLA) and Amazon (AMZN).
Subscriptions also provide Alphabet with added revenue that it can plow back into the Waymo robotaxi business and fund its expansion.
In the first quarter of this year, Alphabet’s “Other Bets” segment, which includes Waymo, saw its losses swell to $2.1 billion U.S. from $1.22 billion U.S. a year earlier.
At the same time, Waymo’s revenue fell to $411 million U.S. from $450 million U.S. the previous year.
In February of this year, Waymo raised $16 billion U.S. in a funding round that values the business unit at $126 billion U.S., more than double its valuation in October 2024.
GOOGL stock has risen 104% over the past 12 months to trade at $357.77 U.S. per share.
