Waymo Approved to Expand Robotaxi Service in Silicon Valley

The California Public Utilities Commission has authorized Waymo to extend its commercial robotaxi service, allowing the Alphabet company to operate its driverless ride-hailing vehicles in more communities south of San Francisco.

Waymo Maintains Current Robotaxi Operations Across San Francisco and Silicon Valley

The company stated on X that the approval will not alter its immediate plans. Currently, Waymo runs a commercial robotaxi service across San Francisco and parts of the Peninsula. It also offers driverless rides to paying customers in several Silicon Valley cities, including Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale. Overall, Waymo’s service area spans about 85 square miles, covering both San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Expanding Robotaxi Service to San Francisco International Airport

The company also plans to expand service to San Francisco International Airport, but this is expected to happen much later. In March, Waymo received a temporary permit to map the airport’s roadways, though its vehicles won’t operate autonomously there yet; employees will manually drive to gather mapping data. This permit marks the first step toward eventually offering commercial service at SFO.

Waymo currently provides 250,000 paid rides weekly across its operations, which include Los Angeles, Phoenix, and more recently, Austin.

Read the original article on: TechChurch

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