Waymo expands service area around San Francisco and Los Angeles

Waymo is expanding its service area in two major metropolitan parts of California, according to a report by TechCrunch. The company is bringing its robotaxis to several new cities and neighborhoods around Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Beginning today, riders along the San Francisco Peninsula in cities like Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae and Burlingame will be able to try out a Waymo driverless cab. The same goes for Silicon Valley locations like Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

The greater Los Angeles area gets an expansion on June 18. Robotaxis will be available in neighborhoods like Echo Park, Silver Lake, Ladera Heights and Playa del Rey. They will also run through the entirety of Sunset Boulevard.

The company says this recent expansion will grow its operational borders in both regions by around 80 square miles. This brings the total coverage area in California to 250 square miles, following other expansions throughout the state.

Waymo recently boasted that it reached a milestone of 10 million paid rides, with 250,000 weekly rides in all four of its US markets. The Waymo One service also operates in Phoenix and Austin. This is a decent metric, considering the company ditched its waitlist and began offering rides to the public just last year.

The company plans on testing its driverless system in 10 new cities this year, including Las Vegas and San Diego. It has also announced that it'll begin offering driverless taxi rides in Washington DC in 2026. Waymo hasn't abandoned the rest of the world. It started testing robotaxis in Tokyo earlier this year.

The company is also planning on more than doubling its fleet of vehicles. Waymo currently operates 1,500 Jaguar I-Pace SUVs. with 2,000 joining the fleet in the next year or so.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-expands-service-area-around-san-francisco-and-los-angeles-180811473.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/transportation/waymo-expands-service-area-around-san-francisco-and-los-angeles-180811473.html?src=rss