Waymo gives the blind a new independence

[Pisces]

5. First part of the article below

Ruben Brunt hopped off a ferry, tapped his white cane against the sidewalk and held his phone to his ear to listen for directions. His destination was a white Jaguar idling a few blocks away — with no one behind the wheel.

Mr. Brunt, 28, was born with a rare eye disorder. He can’t drive himself, and had never experienced the feeling of being alone in a car — until Waymo’s self-driving vehicles started navigating San Francisco’s hilly streets two years ago.

Now Mr. Brunt will occasionally make the hourlong journey across the bay from his home in Solano County, Calif., just to ride in one. “It’s that feeling of independence and actually having the control,” he said. “Being able to play whatever music you want, feeling like you’re in your own car.”