Waymo Offers Free Driverless Robotaxi Rides to the Public in Los Angeles

Waymo is offering its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to select members of the public in Los Angeles. Waymo One will be offering rides to the public in four major cities later this year, including Austin, Texas.

In LA, the Google-backed company will begin by offering rides in a 63 square mile area from Santa Monica to Downtown LA, scaling its operations over time.

These initial rides will be free.

Wiith the California Public Utilities Commission’s recent approval, it will transition to a paid service.

Waymo will gradually onboard the more than 50,000 people on its LA waiting list.

The Waymo Driver has been put through over a year of evaluation in LA since the city was announced as its third ride-hailing city.

In Austin the service is currently being testing fullly across 43 square miles of the city,

At this stage of testing, it's providing rides to Waymo employees before opening the service to members of the public later this year.

Waymo co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, says: “Once an unimaginable future, autonomous driving is now a real-world way of getting around for tens of thousands of people each week. After achieving key milestones in each city, we're so excited to bring the safety, comfort and delight of our Waymo One service to more people in Los Angeles and Austin this year.”

Waymo One, is Waymo's 24/7 autonomous ride-hailing service.