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The self-driving taxi company Waymo announced Thursday that it’s coming to Minneapolis — though the service won’t be available to the public just yet.

Waymo said it will begin “laying the early groundwork” to introduce driverless cars as a transit option in Minneapolis, with a fleet of Jaguar and Zeekr electric vehicles taking to the streets.

The testing to collect data and map the city will be done with a human driver behind the wheel, a Waymo spokesperson said. The company did not say how long the testing process will take. Fewer

than ten vehicles will be a part of testing.

Waymo also said its arrival in Minneapolis just ahead of winter — and the slush and snow that’ll soon be on city streets — comes after previous testing in snowy conditions in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, upstate New York, and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

“We continue to validate our sixth-generation Waymo Driver, which leverages Waymo’s AI and robust cleaning mechanisms to sustain fully autonomous operations in snow and ice,” the company said in a news release. “Sleet or shine, our technology is making roads safer where we operate, and we look forward to offering the Minneapolis community a safe and accessible transportation option.”

Waymo vehicles use cameras, radar and lidar — and an AI computing platform — to observe and process what’s happening on the road ahead. Riders use the Waymo app to hail the taxis.

In cities where Waymo is already operating, the company says its autonomous vehicles have significantly fewer crashes than vehicles driven by humans over the same distance.

Waymo currently operates in Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles, and it has announced plans to expand to other cities besides Minneapolis.

Minneapolis city spokesperson Allen Henry said self-driving cars like Waymo “are part of the future, but cities need to be able to work with operators to keep our streets safe and traffic efficient. As a city with a strong legacy of technological leadership, we look forward to continuing the conversation with Waymo as they begin testing their vehicles with human drivers.”

Waymo’s announcement on Thursday included statements of support from two Minnesota lawmakers, Republican Rep. Jon Koznick and Democratic Rep. Erin Koegel, co-chairs of the Minnesota House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee. 

Koznick called the arrival of Waymo “an exciting step forward.” Koegel said they’re “committed to ensuring autonomous deployment like Waymo’s is done responsibly.”

But the arrival of Waymo has raised concerns among drivers for rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft. 

The Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association, or MULDA, issued a statement Thursday warning that “driverless cars could lead to significant job loss among drivers who rely on rideshare income to support their families.” The group noted that many of those drivers are immigrants and people of color.

The group also questioned whether autonomous vehicles can operate safely in icy conditions on busy city streets.

“Innovation cannot come at the expense of our livelihoods or our safety,” Eid Ali, the president of MULDA, said in a statement. “Before driverless cars operate here, Minnesotans deserve clear evidence that these vehicles are safe — and that drivers won’t be left behind.”

Waymo’s arrival is not the first step toward potential self-driving vehicle services in Minnesota.

Minnesota’s Advanced Rural Transit Innovation, or goMARTI

, launched a pilot program three years ago in north-central Minnesota. Its vehicles have self-driving capabilities, though human drivers are still in the car 

In the southwest Twin Cities metro area, SouthWest Transit also is 

using autonomous vehicles for its SW Prime

 on-demand rideshare service — though for now, those vehicles still have a human driver aboard.

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Chandra Colvin

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The self-driving taxi company Waymo announced Thursday that it’s coming to Minneapolis — though the service will be in a testing and data collection phase, with human drivers behind the wheel, to start.

Self-driving taxi company Waymo to begin testing its fleet in Minneapolis

Three parked autonomous self-driving electric vehicles

Patrick T. Fallon | AFP via Getty Images file

A white driverless car made by the company Waymo drives down a street in San Francisco

Self-driving taxi company Waymo to begin testing its fleet in Minneapolis

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