PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Driverless vehicles are abundant in the Valley, and drivers may now start to encounter them at higher speeds.

Starting Wednesday, some Waymo rides will be able to utilize freeways in the Phoenix area, along with freeways in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.

Arizona’s Family was among the first to ride-along inside a Waymo vehicle as it drove on the freeways. Waymo says about 25% of rides will benefit from the use of freeways.

Riders will need to indicate on their app that they are interested in freeway rides, Waymo says.

Waymo is owned by Google parent company Alphabet. It now plans to scale up freeway usage in the three markets, but the company has been offering freeway rides to employees and guests for more than a year.

The company says its freeway oper

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