The autonomous driving technology unit of Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, Waymo, said on Monday that its rides will now be available across San Francisco and around the clock.
What Happened: “Beginning today, riders can use Waymo One across our expanded service area—covering nearly 47 square miles of the city,” Waymo wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Passengers can now avail autonomous Waymo rides to Chase Center or Chinatown or Coit Tower.
Waymo and General Motors‘ Cruise received driverless deployment permits for 24×7 operation in San Francisco from the California Public Utilities Commission in August. This was despite resistance from several quarters, including the police and fire departments, together with several residents who opposed scaling autonomous vehicles, citing undue interference and unpredictable driving.
Until then, autonomous rides were limited to certain parts of the city and to certain hours of the day.
Why It Matters: “Seeing strong performance from the Waymo Driver, great demand, and overwhelmingly positive feedback from our riders,” Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said in a post.
Cruise, meanwhile, continues to be embroiled in trouble. About two weeks after receiving the permit, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) directed Cruise to remove 50% of its operational autonomous vehicles from the roads after one of its self-driving cars collided with an emergency vehicle.
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