Nov 22, 2022 - News

More self-driving cars are riding into SF

Megan Rose Dickey

Man walking in front of a self-driving car with the bay bridge in the background. — Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Expect to see more ghost-riders, more commonly called self-driving vehicles, on the streets of San Francisco.

Driving the news: Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving unit, announced last week it plans to start offering fully self-driving rides, without anyone in the driver's seat, in the next few weeks.

That's courtesy of the California Public Utilities Commission granting Waymo a Driverless Pilot permit earlier this month.
Yes, but: The permit requires that Waymo offer test rides to the public for free.

The big picture: Waymo will be the second company to offer fully autonomous rides to the public in San Francisco.

In February, Cruise began operating fully driverless, late-night rides throughout SF. It plans to offer daytime rides to members of the public "soon," CEO Kyle Vogt tweeted this month.
Cruise started charging for rides in June, after receiving a Driverless Deployment permit from the CPUC.

What's next: Waymo says the plan is to launch 24/7 driverless rides to members of the public soon.

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More self-driving cars are riding into SF

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