Waymo Robotaxi Services Now Available All Across San Francisco

Waymo's robotaxis can now be commissioned for service all across San Francisco as the autonomous ride-hailing service expands operations on the West Coast amid "strong demands."

First reported by TechCrunch on Tuesday, Waymo has finally dumped its waitlist in the city and turned its test services into open access, four years after it did the same in Phoenix, Arizona.

Waymo has already secured key approval from the California Public Utilities Commission since March, the company has waited several months as it convinces residents of its services' safety amid growing pushbacks.

The robotaxi business claimed that it has already received over 300,000 signatories in the city waiting to experience its services, indicating strong demands for its self-driving cars.

As of writing, Waymo has been granted permission to operate its 300-strong robotaxi fleet in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Peninsula, and on San Francisco freeways.

Waymo Opens Public Access to Robotaxis Amid Safety Concerns

Waymo's expansion of its San Francisco operations could indicate the company's confidence in its service's success despite government and regulatory scrutiny of its autonomous driving system's safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier opened investigations into major driverless system operators in the country amid reports of their robotaxis exhibiting "unexpected behavior."

Among the subject of the investigation was Waymo due to 22 reported road incidents involving its self-driving taxis, including 17 collisions with stationary and semi-stationary objects.

This is in addition to several voluntary software recalls the company as part of its "commitment to safety."

Waymo has maintained its robotaxis' safety, claiming it has even outperformed over 7 million human drivers in safety benchmarks across its 700,000 public ride-hailing operations.

Waymo Expands Operations Across More States

Aside from increasing the scope of its operations in accessible cities, Waymo has also been moving to expand its test services to other states further as it continues to promote advantages in robotaxis and driverless vehicles.

So far, Waymo has launched several test operations in Atlanta and some parts of Austin under its Waymo One program.