The California Public Utilities Commission has granted approval for Waymo to broaden its commercial robotaxi service area, enabling the tech giant, a subsidiary of Alphabet, to introduce its driverless ride-hailing vehicles to a greater number of communities south of San Francisco.
In a recent announcement on social media platform X, Waymo stated that this approval does not alter its immediate operational plans. Currently, the company runs a robotaxi service throughout San Francisco and parts of the Peninsula, offering driverless rides to customers in several cities within Silicon Valley, including Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale. Overall, Waymo’s service area spans approximately 85 square miles, encompassing both San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Waymo expressed enthusiasm about receiving the green light from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to operate its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the South Bay region, including nearly all of San Jose. However, they clarified that this approval will not lead to any immediate changes in their operations.
In addition to expanding its service area, Waymo is also working towards providing access to the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Although these efforts are projected to take longer, the company received permission in March to map the airport’s roadways using a temporary permit. It is important to note that Waymo’s vehicles will not drive autonomously within the airport; instead, company employees will manually operate the vehicles to conduct the mapping. This permit marks the initial steps toward Waymo’s goal of offering commercial services at the airport in the future.
Currently, Waymo facilitates around 250,000 paid trips per week across its various locations, which extend to major cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and, more recently, Austin.
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