'Drishyam 3' star Meena's driverless taxi ride goes viral; fans dig in, identify Waymo

The Malayalam superhit Drishyam's third instalment is all set to hit theatres on May 21, actor Mohanlal's birthday. Meanwhile, its lead actress, Meena, who plays the character Rani, is travelling in the US. Recently, she shared a glimpse of an extremely thrilling experience in the US. With the caption 'Trusting the tech and enjoying the view,' she shared a video of taking a ride in a driverless cab! 'Hi, shall I introduce you to my driver?' Meena asks in the video, pointing to the empty driver's seat and a steering wheel that moves on its own!

Her fans loved the video and even came up with some funny comments as the movie's release is a few days away. One of the 'worried' followers commented, 'Where is Georgekutty (Mohanlal's character in Drishyam)?' Have you finished him and packed him in a luggage.' Another joked, 'As there is no driver, you probably don't have to pay, do you?' A few of them also expressed their excitement about the release of the much-awaited film. Certain fans were curious to know how she managed to hire the cab and where. It looks like Meena hired a self-driving Jaguar I-PACE from Waymo in California, US. The famous Golden Gate Bridge in California could also be seen in her now-viral video.

Google’s own Waymo
Waymo was started by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. Now, Waymo is one of the leading self-driving taxi companies in the world. Launched in 2009, the first experimental ride of the self–driving taxi was conducted on the roads in the city of Austin in 2015. Meanwhile, Waymo One, Waymo’s official commercial taxi service, was started in December 2018 in Phoenix, US. This American tech giant is considered one of the first commercial self–driving taxi services in the world.

Is a driverless car affordable?
Interestingly, in the locations where these taxis operate, their rates are often similar to, or slightly more expensive than, similar services with human drivers. Apparently, a 12-minute ride can cost a passenger around 16 dollars. Riders book directly through the Waymo app to hire them. At times, they are available via services like Uber as well. Users sometimes experience longer wait times for driverless cabs.

Is Waymo safe?
According to reports, Waymo's driverless cab services are generally safe. Data also indicates that in most Waymo accidents, the error was caused by human drivers rear-ending the vehicle, resulting in a collision. In certain crash statistics, it has outperformed human drivers as well. So far, there are also no reported cases of passenger or pedestrian fatality caused directly by the driverless service.