Waymo will officially launch its self-driving taxis in LA tomorrow – despite a spate of high-profile crashes
Waymo is launching its driverless taxi service in Los Angeles tomorrow after a series of crashes.
Angelenos will be able to join Waymo’s waiting list to be the first to drive fully autonomous vehicles after years of testing.
This initial launch will be free for select LA residents, transitioning to a paid service in the coming weeks, but Waymo has not specified when paid rides will officially begin.
The company offers rides in a 60-square-mile area from Santa Monica to Downtown LA and plans to increase the radius over time.
Waymo is rolling out its driverless taxi service in Los Angeles starting tomorrow
There are currently more than 50,000 Angelenos on Waymo’s waiting list, and the company said it will gradually onboard these residents before welcoming all passengers permanently.
“Once an unimaginable future, autonomous driving is now a real way to travel for tens of thousands of people every week,” said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana.
“After reaching major milestones in each city, we are so excited to bring the safety, comfort and enjoyment of our Waymo One service to more people in Los Angeles and Austin this year.”
Waymo invited LA residents to experience fully autonomous rides last October and said locals have since taken more than 15,000 rides in the past five months in Santa Monica, Century City, West Hollywood, Mid City, Korea Town and Downtown LA.
While Waymo is rolling out its taxi service in LA, it is still conducting fully autonomous testing in Austin, Texas and is expected to become available to public riders later this year.
The release of autonomous taxis comes after a recent spate of accidents forced the company to scale back the release.
In February, a vehicle collided with a cyclist in San Francisco after he turned left behind a large truck crossing the intersection.
The company said the truck obscured the person from view and claimed the Waymo vehicle braked heavily but was unable to avoid a collision with the cyclist.
In December, two of the self-driving vehicles also crashed into the same semi-truck in Arizona after misjudging the vehicle’s location.
The collision forced Waymo to issue several recalls and updates to its software two months later.
“This voluntary recall reflects how seriously we take our responsibility to deploy our technology safely and communicate transparently with the public,” Waymo said at the time.
“Hundreds of recall reports are filed with NHTSA each year and we respect the importance of this road safety framework and our relevant legal obligations.”