California regulators on Friday authorized Waymo to expand services of its robotaxi fleet in Los Angeles and peninsula cities south of San Francisco.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved Waymo’s application to expand its self-driving taxi operations beyond San Francisco starting Friday. The company owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., has also operated the service in Phoenix since 2020.
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Waymo cars have become a fairly common sight on the streets of San Francisco, although they are not universally popular and have been known to make sudden stops that have brought traffic to a standstill in the city.
Waymo’s expansion comes after California authorities revoked the license of a rival robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining that its driverless cars ferrying passengers across San Francisco posed a dangerous threat. A robotaxi operated by that company, Cruise, hit a pedestrian who had been hit by another vehicle driven by a human, and then pinned him under one of its tires after coming to a stop.
Officials in San Mateo County and Los Angeles have opposed the expansion and want more local say in how robotaxis can operate.