Alphabet's Waymo Opens Robotaxi Rides For All In Los Angeles After San Francisco, Says 'More Cities On The Way'

Alphabet Inc‘s GOOG GOOGL Waymo said on Tuesday that it has opened autonomous rides to everyone in Los Angeles.

What Happened: Waymo commenced commercial operations in Los Angeles earlier this year. However, rides then were limited to the nearly 300,000 riders who signed up to join the company’s waitlist. The company was adding new riders to the service incrementally. However, it has now scrapped the waitlist altogether.

“La La Land is now our third city open to all riders, with waitlists removed and more cities on the way,” the company’s Chief Product Officer Saswat Panigrahi said in a post on X.

Fully autonomous @Waymo rides are now available to anyone in Los Angeles – one of the top 5 ride-hailing markets in the US! La La Land is now our third city open to all riders, with waitlists removed and more cities on the way.https://t.co/VX3vmwVkkx

— Saswat Panigrahi (@saswat101) November 12, 2024

Riders in Los Angeles can now download the Waymo One app and avail a ride around nearly 80 square miles of LA County.

“We intend to grow our service area to cover more of the city in the future,” Waymo said in a statement.

Why It Matters: Los Angeles has now joined San Francisco and Phoenix as the cities where Waymo One rides are available to everyone.

Waymo currently operates a fleet of all-electric vehicles that have been customized to enable autonomous driving in these cities. The company is delivering over 150,000 paid rides every week to the public, it said in October.

Late last month, Waymo closed an oversubscribed investment round of $5.6 billion led by its parent Alphabet to expand its robotaxi service.

Waymo is currently the frontrunner in the field of autonomous vehicles in the U.S. While General Motors' Cruise was at par with Waymo until last year, it suspended all of its operations in the U.S. late last year following the involvement of one of its robotaxis in an accident in San Francisco, leading to heightened regulatory scrutiny and the exit of its co-founder and then CEO Kyle Vogt.

Amazon.com’s Zoox, meanwhile, is testing its custom-built robotaxi with no pedals or steering wheel in San Francisco by giving rides to company employees.

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

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Photo courtesy: Waymo