Waymo has been steadily testing its autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without a human safety operator, and it is now ready to commercialize robotaxi services in its second California city. This is an important step for the company, as it moves closer to completely eliminating the need for human driver involvement in transportation.
Waymo’s driverless robotaxis is a popular, futuristic mode of transportation that is slowly making its way into the mainstream. However, for now, only employees will be able to use them. The company plans to gradually open up rider-only services in Santa Monica before eventually expanding them to more neighborhoods around Los Angeles.
Waymo’s robotaxi service is expected to be a major player in the ride-sharing market, and its expansion into Los Angeles signals its confidence in the city’s potential as a global transportation hub. With plenty of people and high-quality roads, LA is well equipped to support Waymo’s ambitions for a fully self-driving future.
Waymo is currently the only company operating a commercial robotaxi service in San Francisco, but they are waiting for the final permit from the California Public Utilities Commission before they can begin charging passengers. The company has been able to achieve success so far by relying on human safety operators when deliveries are made, but they want to eventually be able to offer their passengers autonomous services without any human involvement.
Waymo has been working on its driverless technology for years and is seemingly one step closer to getting this service available to the public. However, it will likely take quite some time before this happens, as the company needs to secure yet another permit from the CPUC. In the meantime, Waymo’s Trusted Tester program should be a thrilling way for fans of automated driving technology to get their hands on what may soon be standard in our vehicles.
It seems that Waymo is making good progress in getting its commercial robotaxi service up and running in Los Angeles. However, there are still a few permits that need to be secured before the company can really start doing business. This might mean more months of testing and deployment before Waymo can achieve faster scale than it has in San Francisco. Meanwhile, its fifth-generation Driver seems to be another key advantage the company plans on using to succeed in LA.
Dmitri Dolgov’s tweet confirms what many have been hoping to hear- Waymo’s 5th-gen Driver performs extremely well across a variety of different cities. This is great news for autonomy enthusiasts everywhere, as it means we’re getting closer and closer to truly driverless cars.
