California regulators have given Waymo permission to extend the operations of its fleet of self-driving cars, known as “robotaxis,” to Los Angeles and cities on the southern peninsula of San Francisco.

Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company), has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to extend its self-driving taxi services to areas outside of San Francisco, beginning on Friday. Waymo has already been offering this service in Phoenix since 2020.

In a X post, formerly known as Twitter, Waymo stated that the commission’s approval is a positive acknowledgement of our operations. This sets the path for the launch of our commercial Waymo One service in LA and the SF Peninsula.

The vehicles of Waymo are frequently seen on the roads of San Francisco. However, their presence is not universally accepted and their unexpected halts have caused traffic congestion in the city.

Waymo’s increase in operations follows the revocation of a competitor’s autonomous taxi service, owned by General Motors, by California officials. The driverless cars, which were providing transportation for passengers in San Francisco, were deemed to be a hazardous threat. Reportedly, a pedestrian was hit by another human-driven vehicle and was then trapped under one of Cruise’s robotaxis after it halted.

Both San Mateo County and Los Angeles officials were against the expansion and desire greater control over the operations of robotaxis within their respective areas.

Source: wral.com