Waymo launches 24/7 robotaxi service in Los Angeles

Joining Phoenix, Ariz. and San Francisco, Calif., a robotaxi service by the world’s first commercial autonomous ride hailing company, Waymo, is coming to Los Angeles. 

“We’ve gotten to know many LA neighborhoods, including Downtown and Miracle Mile, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Westwood and West Hollywood, and we’ll begin driving autonomously in several central districts over the coming months as we prepare to serve Angelenos,” reads an announcement posted by Waymo, which is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

Leading up to the launch, the transportation tech company, which has been in operation for 12 years, autonomously traveled “millions of miles on freeways,” charting the region’s most precarious and challenging roads ahead of the launch, the statement says. These trips have focused on roadways that criss-cross freeway ramps, narrow streets, unprotected left turns, blinding sunsets along east-west roads, and distracted drivers. The organization claims its autonomous driving technology, Waymo Driver, “outperforms even highly attentive human drivers at avoiding fatal crash scenarios.”

The new LA service will provide daily and round–the-clock robotaxi mobility options throughout Los Angeles, including carpool services and rides to transportation hubs. With around 13 million residents, Los Angeles’ metropolitan region is one of the world’s largest ride-hailing service areas, and the third largest in the U.S. The region has an estimated market opportunity of $2 billion as of this year, the statement says. 2022. As a commercial opportunity, Los Angeles is the equivalent of a dozen smaller U.S. ride-hailing market opportunities combined.

It’s also an opportunity for city leaders to take their community a step into the future.

“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,” said LA 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.”

Notably, the robotaxi ride service still uses safety drivers, according to an article from CNBC. Waymo is the only company in the United States with a fully autonomous ride-hailing fleet that’s operating around the clock.

“The Second District of Los Angeles has a set of unique transportation challenges, with the highest rates of traffic safety issues, a lack of access to reliable and affordable transit, and limited or delayed access to emerging mobility solutions,” said Holly J. Mitchell, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Director of the LA Metro Board. “We need technology partners who are willing to sit down with our communities and explore how their products might help us solve our transportation challenges, rather than create more. I am excited that Waymo’s vision, leadership, and sustained presence in Los Angeles will result in a lasting and fruitful partnership for the Second District.”