Waymo, the driverless taxi service, expanded its service again Wednesday in Los Angeles County.
The driverless taxis have started picking riders up in Westwood, Marina Del Rey, Mar Vista, Playa Vista, additional parts of Hollywood, and Chinatown. This is part of the company's larger statewide expansion.
A representative for Waymo said they are focused on refining the Waymo One app to be as seamless and useful as possible for riders.
Waymo started rolling out its service by offering free rides from January to April. The company was given approval in March by California regulators to expand its services and started charging riders the following month.
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There has been resistance over the driverless taxis in L.A. County since Waymo first rolled out.
“These robotaxis are far too untested and Angelenos shouldn’t be Big Tech’s guinea pigs,” L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn told the L.A. Times in March. “Decisions like this one should be informed by cities, not made over city objections.”
In February, Sen. Dave Cortese introduced a bill aimed at allowing local governments to regulate autonomous vehicles.
“The emergence of autonomous vehicles is an exciting technological development with massive potential upsides for safety and convenience,” Cortese said in January.
Hugo Soto-Martinez told KNX News’ Craig Fiegener in February autonomous vehicles are not ready for the streets of L.A.
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