Passengers travel to Santa Monica aboard an electric Waymo with fully autonomous technology
Allen J. Cockroaches | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Of the alphabet The Waymo robotaxi unit has won approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to expand service in parts of Los Angeles and the Bay Area, according to a notice posted Friday on the regulator’s website.
“Waymo may begin driverless passenger service operations in specified areas of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula, starting today,” the release said.
In mid-February, Waymo initiated a voluntary recall filing notice with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, saying it would fix the software problems. The recall follows two previously undisclosed crashes in Phoenix on Dec. 11, in which unmanned Waymo vehicles crashed into the same towed pickup truck within minutes of each other.
The collisions added to existing concerns about the use of autonomous vehicles in California. Competing taxi and ride-hailing providers and union activists are concerned about the loss of driver jobs, while safety advocates have written letters to regulators and politicians asking them to counter the expansion of Waymo in the state.
The CPUC had suspended Waymo’s expansion efforts in February for up to 120 days to provide additional review time.
In its letter on Friday, the regulator said it was approving the new proposal, in part thanks to Waymo’s “updated Passenger Safety Plan (PSP), submitted in connection with its expanded operational design domain (ODD ) for implementation”, also approved. by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
“We are grateful to the CPUC for this vote of confidence in our operations, which paves the way for the deployment of our commercial Waymo One service in Los Angeles and the San Francisco peninsula,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement.
Waymo’s progress in California comes next General Motorsowned by Cruise e Apple has retired from the autonomous vehicle business in California, while that of Elon Musk Tesla has yet to develop an autonomous vehicle that can operate safely without a human driver at the controls.
California regulators halted operations of self-driving Cruise robotaxis in October after a series of crashes, including one that resulted in a robotaxi rolling over onto a pedestrian who had first been struck by a human-driven car and then dragged forward about 20 feet by the vehicle. Cruise vehicle.
Waymo’s new approvals allow the company’s robotaxis to operate near Tesla’s engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, San Mateo County.
The latest advisory applies to the Waymo One commercial ride-sharing service. The company has been using test vehicles in those areas for several years.
CLOCK: Mob burns Waymo in San Francisco
