Waymo To Launch Self-Driving Service In LA

Alphabet owned Waymo has signalled its intention to launch its ride-hailing service Waymo One in Los Angeles.

In a blog post this week, the firm confirmed that Los Angeles will be Waymo’s next ride-hailing city, joining Phoenix and San Francisco, as it seeks to expand the service in the United States.

However there was no confirmation on any timeline for when Waymo expects its ride hailing service to become operational for riders in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles

The company said it has already started driving around the city to collect mapping data. This involves good old fashioned driving around by actual humans, while the car’s sensors gather information on raods, crosswalks, pavements, curb heights and intersections.

Waymo in its blog post said that it has “gotten to know many LA neighborhoods, including Downtown and Miracle Mile, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Westwood and West Hollywood,” and that it will begin driving autonomously in several central districts over the coming months as it prepare to serve Angelenos.

It said it would deploy a round-the-clock service that provides more accessible and dependable mobility options to all residents of LA.

“When we think about our next cities, Los Angeles jumps out,” said Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana.

“LA is a remarkable, vibrant place – and Waymo’s experience leaves us best positioned to tackle its driving complexity,” said Mawakana. “We’re working closely with Angelenos to ensure we’re addressing the transportation needs and priorities of their communities as we bring the Waymo Driver to LA.”

Waymo said that it operations in Los Angeles build on its “unparalleled expertise across both ride-hailing and trucking. Everything we’ve learned over 12 years of autonomous driving has prepared us to serve Angelenos.”

Los Angeles is a city with a population of 13 million residents, and the Los Angeles metropolitan area is one of the largest ride-hailing service areas in the world and the third largest in the US, with an estimated market opportunity of $2 billion in 2022, the firm stated.

But Los Angeles is also famous for the sheer number of huge traffic jams.

“If we want to change the car culture in Los Angeles, we need to give Angelenos real alternatives to owning their own vehicle – including a world-class public transportation network, a range of active transportation options, and the convenience of mobility as a service across our City,” admitted Mayor Eric Garcetti.

“By adding Waymo to our growing list of ways to get around, we’re making good on our commitment to ease congestion on our streets, clean our air, and give people a better way to get where they need to go,” said Garcetti.

Slow arrival

Waymo has been taken quite a while to deliver its service.

It first launched its ride-hailing service in 2017 in Phoenix and has been slow to make progress outside of the limited East Valley Phoenix region.

It then introduced fully autonomous public rides in 2020, serving hundreds of rides weekly.

In May 2021 a self-driving taxi from Waymo in Phoenix caused problems after it got confused when it encountered a coned-off road.

And to make matters worse, when roadside assistance was dispatched, the confused Waymo vehicle repeatedly drove off from the Waymo engineer.

The firm expanded to San Francisco in August 2021, but the cars, most of which still have safety drivers, are still not available to the public or people outside of its approved testing participants.

In October last year reports emerged of Waymo self-driving vehicles annoying local residents in the city, when they started clogging a normally quiet cul-de-sac in the city, apparently due to confusion over traffic regulations.

In March this year, Waymo started offering driverless rides to its staff in San Francisco, and at the same time also expanded its ongoing trial of autonomous driving in Arizona to include downtown Phoenix.

In Los Angeles it is reported that Waymo will begin its service with safety drivers behind the wheel and later, with just Waymo staffers as riders.

It will apparently begin public testing after it gathers the relevant permits and feedback.