California’s regulator this month approved an expansion of robotaxi services in the city, allowing Waymo Cruise LLC to begin charging fares for rides when the streets are busiest. (Bloomberg)

Robotaxis Stirring Up Controversy in San Francisco

Adriana MaraisAugust 25, 23self-driving cars, Waymo

Waymo, the robotaxi company, was acknowledged by the emcee as one of the sponsors before Patti Smith’s performance in San Francisco this month. The audience booed, which reflects the growing hostility in the city towards one of the most watched fields of technology. There was a recent incident where a fleet of driverless vehicles froze and blocked traffic during a concert on Friday night in North Beach. Days later, the autonomous car got stuck in wet cement at a construction site, and then the robot collided with a fire truck…

Waymo, a unit of Google-parent Alphabet, and General Motors-owned Cruise essentially run 24-hour robotaxi services in San Francisco. (AP photo)

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Autonomous Taxis Make Progress in San Francisco

Adriana MaraisAugust 14, 23Google, Waymo

On Thursday, California authorities granted permission to Waymo and Cruise to enter the competition with ride-share services and taxis, thereby advancing the expansion of driverless taxi services in San Francisco. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) heard six hours of public comments before voting three to three that Waymo, Google’s parent company Alphabet, and Cruise, owned by General Motors, primarily operate 24-hour robot taxi services in San Francisco. “Today is the first of many steps in bringing AV (autonomous vehicle) transportation services to Californians and creating a successful and transparent…

The CPUC has granted the companies permission to expand their robotaxi services.

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San Francisco Approves 24/7 Paid Robotaxi Services from Waymo and Cruise

Nitin MisraAugust 11, 23California, Cruise, Waymo

California regulators have granted permission to Google’s Waymo and GM’s Cruise to charge fares for fully driverless rides in San Francisco at any time of the day. The decision was made by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) with a 3 to 1 vote, following an assessment of the companies’ compliance with licensing requirements and consideration of public testimonies both in favor and against the expansion. Waymo said it will “gradually welcome more passengers to the service” and “will begin charging tickets for passenger-only trips within the city” in the…

The company wants robotaxis to become successful first.

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Waymo Redirects Attention to Ride Hailing, Delays Autonomous Truck Development

Sanjay PatilJuly 27, 23Waymo

Waymo’s focus on driverless trucks will be delayed as the company shifts its attention to its One ride-hailing service. The decision aims to prioritize the success of self-driving taxis, according to co-CEOs Dmitri Dolgov and Tekedra Mawakana. Consequently, the deployment of Waymo-powered autonomous big rigs will be limited in the near future. Waymo justified the decision by citing “significant” growth in demand for its robot taxis in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. It also noted rapid updates to Driver, the artificial intelligence system that powers its autonomous cars. One…

First pilot Alex Hoffman seen inside a Waymo autonomous vehicle at a protest in Chandler, Ariz. (File photo) (REUTERS)

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Waymo begins limited testing of its robot taxi service in San Francisco

Febin MathewFebruary 18, 21Alphabet, Google, Waymo

Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit Waymo said on Wednesday it had started testing in San Francisco. Runner testing will be limited to employee volunteers at the start. It is also the first expansion of robo-taxi service beyond the Phoenix, Arizona area. According to Waymo, its self-driving Chrysler Pacificas and Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs have now traveled more than 20 billion kilometers using computer simulations. They have also driven 20 million kilometers on public roads in 25 cities since the start of the program. The initial phase of Waymo’s testing will include…