Waymo Robotaxis Now Available to Everyone

Waymo, the company owned by Alphabet (Google), has announced that its robotaxi service, Waymo One, is now available to all users in San Francisco. The service, previously accessible only to a limited number of passengers, can now be used by anyone, expanding the self-driving taxi options in the city.

In a blog post published on Tuesday, Waymo stated that nearly 300,000 people have signed up for the Waymo One service since the company opened its waitlist. The company began commercial passenger transport in August following a testing period.

"We are committed to expanding our service gradually and responsibly," Waymo wrote in the post. "We work closely with city and state officials, first responders, and road safety advocates to ensure our service provides reliable, safe, and environmentally friendly transportation for local communities and has a positive impact on mobility."

This marks the second city-wide rollout for Waymo, following Phoenix where the service launched in 2020. Waymo One also operates with limited capacity in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. As of February, the company had approximately 700 vehicles in its Waymo One fleet, with about 300 of those cars being part of the San Francisco service.

In recent months, self-driving vehicles have sparked some public backlash following collisions and other incidents. In October, General Motors' autonomous vehicle unit, Cruise, suspended all its driverless operations following investigations into collisions and the suspension of its California permits.

Waymo, however, has generated less controversy. The company engages in significant public relations efforts and communicates closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and local first responders.

Overall, the 15-year project, which became known as Waymo in 2016, has completed approximately 20 million fully autonomous miles and nearly two million paid taxi trips. The company stated that by the end of March, it had covered 3.8 million miles in San Francisco exclusively with passengers.