Waymo Gets the Green Light to Expand Its Robot Taxis Across California

Waymo, a company that makes self-driving taxis, just got permission to serve riders across a much bigger part of California. The California Public Utilities Commission, a government agency that oversees transportation services, approved Waymo's plan to expand into 18 counties. The new areas include San Diego, Sacramento, and communities in counties like Orange, Riverside, Marin, and Napa. This means Waymo will more than triple the size of the areas it already serves near Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Waymo is owned by Alphabet, the same company that owns Google. On Friday, Waymo announced that officials approved a plan the company first submitted back in January. Eventually, Waymo's service area in Southern California will stretch from Santa Clarita and Thousand Oaks all the way down to San Diego. In Northern California, the service area will reach from Sacramento down to San Jose.

The company says the expansion will happen slowly and carefully. Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp said the company's first goal is to start a rider-only service in San Diego later this summer. The team is also continuing to test its technology in Sacramento before launching there. "While Waymo is receiving its permits today, expansion will be gradual and guided by its safety framework," Karp said.

Waymo recently introduced a new vehicle called the Ojai. This car is bigger and costs less to build than the Jaguar I-Pace cars Waymo used before. The switch to the Ojai is part of how the company plans to grow its service more quickly and affordably. Having a cheaper vehicle makes it easier to add more cars to the fleet.

Waymo's cars use cameras, sensors, and a technology called lidar to "see" the road and drive safely without a human driver. The company says its vehicles have completed more than 220 million fully self-driving miles. According to Karp, data shows that Waymo is involved in about 94% fewer crashes that cause serious injuries compared to human drivers. That is a significant safety record, though the company has not been without controversy.

Some accidents involving Waymo vehicles have made headlines and upset people. Last year, a Waymo car in San Francisco struck and killed a cat that was loved by people in the neighborhood. Incidents like this have led some people to question whether self-driving cars are truly ready for busy city streets. Waymo says it takes all safety concerns seriously and continues to improve its technology.

Waymo is considered the leader in the robotaxi industry right now. It operates in more than ten major cities, while rival Tesla, led by Elon Musk, is still dealing with safety and technical problems. Another competitor, Zoox, which is owned by Amazon, just launched its first paid driverless rides in Las Vegas this week. The race to put self-driving taxis on the road is clearly heating up. Waymo says it looks forward to bringing the safety and convenience of its service to millions more Californians.