Waymo has marked a significant milestone in self-driving car technology by opening its robotaxi service to anyone in Los Angeles on Tuesday. This evolution began 15 years ago as a clandestine project at Google. The announcement follows eight months after Waymo started offering rides to a select group from a waiting list that had soared past 300,000 hopeful passengers. Now, residents and visitors in the expansive 80-square-mile territory encompassing the city can request rides using the Waymo One app.
This expansion comes on the heels of Waymo’s approval from California regulators to charge for rides, granted 15 months ago. The company initially launched its operations in the competitive market of San Francisco before offering a limited service in Los Angeles. Waymo’s foray into driverless rides began in Phoenix in 2020, gradually increasing the reach of its services in that Arizona city.
Driverless transportation is proving its viability beyond mere novelty, with Waymo claiming to transport over 150,000 weekly trips. This burgeoning business volume has attracted considerable financial backing, including a recent $5.6 billion infusion from Alphabet—its parent company—and key investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and T. Rowe Price. In a recent blog post, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana highlighted the rapid maturation of their service and the enthusiastic reception from riders.
Despite these advancements, Waymo is still believed to be operating at a loss. Alphabet doesn’t disclose Waymo’s financial specifics, but the “Other Bets” division, which includes Waymo, reported a $3.3 billion operating loss in the first nine months of this year, though this was an improvement from the $4.2 billion loss during the same period last year.
Waymo’s journey began in 2009 under Google’s project “Chauffeur” and has since grown into the leading entity in the burgeoning robotaxi industry. Amidst this success, competitors like Tesla aim to debut their own “Cybercab” service by 2026. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has expressed hopes to secure regulatory approvals in Texas and California as early as next year, though skepticism remains given Musk’s history of unmet promises regarding self-driving technology.
Waymo has accumulated over 20 million miles of fully autonomous driving and provided more than 2 million rides without any serious accidents halting its operations. This safety record sharply contrasts with GM-owned Cruise, another robotaxi service whose California license was suspended last year after a driverless vehicle dragged a pedestrian struck by a human-driven car.
In efforts to recover, Cruise is partnering with Uber to launch services in unspecified U.S. cities next year. However, Waymo has also secured a partnership with Uber to deploy its robotaxis in Atlanta and Austin, Texas in the coming year. Additionally, Amazon’s Zoox plans to offer driverless rides in Las Vegas before expanding to San Francisco.
Overall, the expanding footprint of Waymo’s robotaxi service in Los Angeles symbolizes a leap forward in the autonomous vehicle sector, showcasing the progress and challenges in a highly competitive landscape.
