Waymo will offer paid robo-taxi rides to Los Angeles residents starting Wednesday after receiving approval from California regulators.
More than 50,000 people remain on a waiting list to try out the futuristic venture, despite pushback from local authorities citing safety concerns after a difficult test period for self-driving cars.
The company did not say how many people will be able to use the app, but last month the technology startup, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, said it would start with fewer than 50 vehicles.
The rental car service works similarly to Lyft, Uber, and Flywheel without a driver and covers a 63-square-mile area from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles.
“The response from Angelenos so far has been exceptional, and we look forward to welcoming even more riders to our service in the future,” said Chris Ludwick, director of product management at Waymo. told NBC.
In the City of Angels, the widespread adoption of self-driving cars was not without its obstacles, with an accident during a test drive that is synonymous with the introduction of self-driving cars.
Concerns have worsened in recent months as it seems like every company developing self-driving cars is facing safety issues. That includes Tesla, which recalled virtually all of its vehicles late last year over regulators’ concerns that its Autopilot system was unsafe.
Meanwhile, General Motors’ Cruise Corp. is under multiple federal investigations after one of its robot taxis dragged a pedestrian who collided with another car.
Last year, safety concerns surrounding self-driving cars were sparked after an online DMV report said a Waymo vehicle was “operating in self-driving mode” during a fatal crash in which a small dog “did not survive.” has increased.
The May 2023 report said “a test driver was present” in the driver’s seat, but the vehicle’s automated driving system (ADS) was under control.
Waymo is promoting the service during an invitation-only period as part of a year-old test process in Los Angeles, taxiing regular passengers around the city in fully autonomous white Jaguars. Ta.
These vehicles have already been in operation in Phoenix since 2018 and in San Francisco in 2021.
