Waymo will begin testing the self-driving Jaguar I-Pace without a human safety operator in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. This is the company’s next step in commercializing robo-taxis services in his second city in California.
First, only employees can ride in the unmanned robo-taxis. Waymo has mapped several LA neighborhoods since his 2019, including Downtown, Miracle He Mile, Koreatown and Westwood, but the company began rider-only testing in Santa Monica and has since gradually We will expand to The service will be available “outside of traditional rush hour hours,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
The Alphabet-owned self-driving technology company first announced plans to launch a 24/7 robo-taxis service in LA in October. A month after that, the California Department of Motor Vehicles allowed Waymo to amend its existing driverless test permit, allowing it to expand beyond San Francisco to Los Angeles.
At that time, the DMV also gave Waymo permission to start charging for services such as deliveries that are fully autonomously driven in San Francisco. Waymo currently operates a commercial robo-taxis service in the city, but can only charge passengers when a human safety operator is in the front seat. The company is still waiting for the final permits it needs from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to charge for its driverless robotaxi service in San Francisco.
Waymo has not disclosed when it plans to offer self-driving cars to members of the Trusted Tester program, or members of the public who have signed non-disclosure agreements. To do that, you’ll need to secure yet another permit from the CPUC, a drone permit.
Waymo will need to obtain a few more permits to launch a proper commercial robotaxi service in LA. This could mean another few months of testing and deployment. The company believes Waymo’s “proven quality of drivership and on-road operations” and the capabilities of its 5th generation drivers will allow it to scale faster in LA than in San Francisco.
“We are thrilled with the data once again confirming how well our ML-based 5th generation drivers generalize across cities!” murmured Waymo co-CEO Dmitry Dolgov said:
