Waymo, the Alphabet-owned self-driving technology company, is set to begin testing its autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without a human safety operator in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Initially, only Waymo employees will be able to hail rides in the driverless robotaxis, which will be available outside of traditional rush hour times.
Waymo has been mapping several LA neighborhoods, including Downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown, and Westwood, since 2019, but it will start its rider-only testing in Santa Monica before gradually ramping up. The move is part of the company’s plan to commercialize robotaxi services in its second California city.
In October 2022, Waymo announced its plans to launch a 24/7 robotaxi service in LA, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles subsequently granted Waymo a modification to its existing driverless testing permit to expand beyond San Francisco and into Los Angeles.
See also: Waymo Collaborates with Zeekr to Build an Autonomous Electric Car
Waymo is still awaiting the final permit it needs from the California Public Utilities Commission to charge for driverless robotaxi services in San Francisco, but it has been granted permission to begin charging for services, such as delivery, driven fully autonomously.
Following a rigorous cycle of validation and safety readiness evaluation, @Waymo is starting fully-autonomous (no human driver) testing in LA. Thrilled by the data confirming, once again, how well our ML-based 5th-gen Driver generalizes across cities! pic.twitter.com/hd0XU5zecT
— Dmitri Dolgov (@dmitri_dolgov) February 27, 2023
There are still a few more permits to secure before Waymo can begin a proper commercial robotaxi service in LA, which might mean several more months of testing and deployment. However, the company is confident that it will be able to achieve faster scale in LA than it has in San Francisco due to its “demonstrated drivership and quality of on-road operations,” as well as the capabilities of its fifth-generation Driver.
See also: Waymo is using its autonomous car to create real-time weather maps
In addition to its driverless testing in LA, Waymo recently opened fully autonomous rides to members of the public from downtown Phoenix to the airport. The company has been running a paid robotaxi service in Chandler, just outside of Phoenix, since 2020.
