Waymo is offering paid robotaxi rides to Los Angeles residents starting Wednesday after being cleared by California regulators.
Despite pushback from local officials who cited safety concerns following the self-driving vehicles’ rocky test period, more than 50,000 people are sitting on the waitlist to try out the futuristic venture.
The company did not reveal how many people will be able to use the app but last month the tech startup — owned by Google-parent Alphabet — said it was starting with a fleet of fewer than 50 cars.
The car-hire service will work similar to Lyft, Uber and Flywheel — without the driver — and cover a 63-square-mile area from Santa Monica to downtown LA.
“The reception from Angelenos so far has been exceptional, and we look forward to welcoming more riders into our service over time,” Chris Ludwick, Waymo’s product management director, told NBC.
The expansion of autonomous vehicles hasn’t been without its hurdles in the City of Angels with accidents in test runs synonymous with their inception.
The worries have been compounding in recent months, as seemingly all companies behind self-driving cars have faced safety issues — including Tesla, which recalled virtually every vehicle late last year over regulators’ concerns that its “autopilot” system is unsafe.
General Motors’ Cruise, meanwhile, is under multiple federal probes after one of its robotaxis dragged a pedestrian who had been struck by another car.
Last year, safety concerns surrounding self-driving cars heightened when an online DMV report said a Waymo car “was engaged in autonomous mode” during a deadly accident involving a small dog “which did not survive.”
“A test driver was present” in the driver’s seat, but the vehicle’s automatic driving system (ADS) was in control, per the May 2023 report.
As part of Waymo’s testing process in Los Angeles — which has been going on for the past year — the company marketed the service and taxied public passengers around the city in its fully autonomous white Jaguars during an invitation-only period.
The cars have already been operating in Phoenix since 2018 and San Francisco since 2021.
