Get ready to see cars without drivers on some Los Angeles and Santa Monica streets Thursday.
Beginning Thursday, Waymo One will offer driver-less ride-hailing services in a 63-square mile area stretching from Santa Monica and Venice to downtown Los Angeles.
“Once an unimaginable future, autonomous driving is now a real-world way of getting around for tens of thousands of people each week,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said this week during a presentation in Austin, Texas. “After achieving key milestones in each city, we’re so excited to bring the safety, comfort and delight of our Waymo One service to more people in Los Angeles and Austin this year.”
The Waymo driver-less vehicles have been operating in the Los Angeles area on a test basis since October, and company officials said more than 15,000 such rides have been provided during that time.
With the service officially beginning in the area starting Thursday, company officials said there are already about 50,000 people on the Los Angeles waitlist for rides.
The driver-less rides will initially be free, but it will transition to a paid service “in the coming weeks.”
The California Public Utilities Commission voted earlier this month to allow Waymo to expand its operations in the Los Angeles area. The company is already offering the service in San Francisco and Phoenix. Los Angeles and Austin will be the company’s third and fourth cities.
Some questions have been raised about the safety of the driver-less technology. The Los Angeles Times reported that a Waymo vehicle struck a closing gate at USC last month. Company officials told the paper the car had just dropped off passengers and was leaving the campus when it approached the gate, which closed on the car, causing some minor scratches.
The Times also reported that during a ride taken by some of its journalists, the car would sometimes stop to drop people off in front of driveways, even as other cars were trying to exit. They also noted that there was no way to instruct the vehicle to pull away from the driveway.
In February, state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, had a news conference at Los Angeles City Hall to announce legislation that would allow cities to impose additional regulations on driver-less vehicle operations. He was joined by some union members who expressed concern that the technology would impact jobs. Mayor Karen Bass has also asked that the CPUC grant more authority to cities to regulate the autonomous vehicles.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn issued a statement after the CPUC’s approval of the service, calling it a “dangerous decision.”
“These robotaxis are far too untested and Angelenos shouldn’t be Big Tech’s guinea pigs,” Hahn said. “Decisions like this one should be informed by cities, not made over city objections.”