Waymo has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to expand its commercial robotaxi service, facilitating driverless rides in more communities south of San Francisco. This extension is significant, not just because it will more than double Waymo’s current operations. Currently, they cover an area of approximately 85 square miles, including all of San Francisco and much of Silicon Valley.
At this point, Waymo has been running its commercial robotaxi service across the entirety of San Francisco and in some parts of the Peninsula. The cities benefiting from this service include portions of Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale. The expansion will put more driverless rides into the hands of paying customers. This move will make Waymo’s autonomous vehicle technology an even more normal part of the daily lives of residents in these areas.
To operate this service, Waymo uses the Jaguar I-PACE as its main autonomous vehicle. The recent approval increases the company’s momentum to implement ambitious plans to establish its presence in a plurality of Silicon Valley communities. They are thrilled to provide this unique transportation opportunity to residents and visitors.
Waymo vehicles are not permitted to drive autonomously at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). It’s a key piece of nuance to understand and remember. Rather, Waymo employees will be manually driving vehicles in this zone to support mapping and localization efforts. The firm has been pushing to open up access to SFO. If successful, this achievement would represent the biggest milestone in its long-term strategy to grow by even more.
Waymo has made waves with press coverage from Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive. The firm is heavily focused on developing driverless car innovation. In addition to increasing service area, it’s representative of a larger movement in the transportation industry toward automated solutions.
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