Waymo’s self-driving taxis are now available for everyone in San Francisco. The company, owned by Google parent Alphabet, hailed the breakthrough as a “key milestone” in its effort to scale its operations.
Until now, says IoT World Today, anyone wishing to ride in Waymo’s autonomous Jaguar I-Pace SUVs in the city had to sign up to the company’s waiting list, before being greenlit – a process that could take weeks, or even months. That requirement has been removed and now the firm’s driverless cabs can be ordered by anyone who downloads the Waymo app and signs up, just as with a conventional ride-hailing company.
The opening up of the service marks the start of a new era for Waymo in its bid for self-driving taxis to gain widespread public acceptance in the city – but also the end of a journey where it has taken a deliberately cautious approach to rolling out its service.
Over the past few years, it has gradually expanded its offering, first providing rides for “trusted testers” – approved riders who signed non-disclosure agreements – before offering driverless rides to staff.
August 2023 saw a major step forward when the California Public Utilities Commission granted Waymo and General Motors-owned Cruise permission to operate commercial driverless services 24/7 in the city, despite complaints that self-driving taxis were causing traffic chaos and getting in the way of first responder vehicles.
