Waymo officially launches driverless rides in San Diego
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Waymos have arrived. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios
If you want to ride in a car driven by a robot, your time has arrived.
Driving the news: Waymo officially starts offering rides to the public on Tuesday, after testing with humans for more than a year and allowing Alphabet employees to get driverless rides since July.
- We took a test drive last week and experienced the novelty of a steering wheel spinning on its own.
Zoom in: Waymo will start accepting new riders on a rolling basis, according to spokesperson Annie Smith. To get in line, you should install the Waymo app.
- The starting service area will be 50 square miles stretching from the beach to I-15 and covering Mission Bay and downtown but not much north of I-8.
- The cars also won't go to the airport or drive on highways right away, spokesperson Sandy Karp told Axios.
Yes, but: The company plans to add highway driving, airport services and a bigger service area in the coming months, she said.
Zoom out: Denver and Tampa are also getting Waymos starting Tuesday, and now 14 cities total have autonomous trips.
Friction point: The California Public Utilities Commission gave Waymo its final permit for San Diego last month, over objections from MTS and MTS' Taxicab Advisory Committee.
- MTS argued the cars could block streets or trolley tracks and that local governments should get to decide whether to allow driverless technology, not the state.
- The taxi committee argued Waymos will hurt jobs.
