Waymo brings more self-driving cars to California – with sights set on New York

If you live in, or have spent time in, Los Angeles over the last 12 months, you’ve likely done a double-take seeing a driverless car pull up next to you in traffic.

Today, Waymo – the company behind the autonomous cabs you can book via an app – announced that it’s expanding its reach to cover more of California.

In Los Angeles, the service now covers Ladera Heights, Echo Park, and Silver Lake. You can also travel directly from Mid-City to Inglewood and Westchester via La Cienega and La Brea.

In San Francisco, you can catch a Waymo in South SF, San Bruno, Millbrae, and Burlingame. In Silicon Valley, more of Palo Alto is now a Waymo zone.

The service is a game-changer for some. 'For blind and visually impaired individuals, driving is not an option and reliable transportation remains one of the biggest barriers to independence.,' says Jim Kales, Chief Executive Officer, Braille Institute of America. 'We’re thrilled that Waymo has expanded its service area to include Braille Institute’s Los Angeles campus – offering our students and community members a new level of accessibility, safety, and freedom.'

But what does this mean for a state where over 1.37 million drivers earn a living through app-based services such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash?

Uber recognised the threat to its business early on and formed a partnership with Waymo in September of last year – you can now book an autonomous car via the Uber app in Austin and Atlanta. But what about the drivers? Waymo is already providing 250,000 rides a week in California, and with this expansion, more drivers stand to lose a significant portion of their earnings.

It doesn't end there. Last week, Waymo applied for a permit with New York City's Department of Transportation to operate self-driving cars in Manhattan, initially with ‘trained specialists’ behind the wheel acting as safety drivers. The news caused Uber and Lyft stock to tumble – by 2.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively. A move into the US’ largest city would be huge for the company, but it’s not without its challenges. Autonomous vehicles are currently banned in NYC, and the highly populated environment is a very different beast from Los Angeles' wide, pedestrian-free streets.

Back in 2020, Wallpaper* Transport and Technology Editor Jonathan Bell spoke to Waymo lead designer YooJung Ahn, who told us: ‘We made our first car look friendly, not intimidating. It wasn't meant to be a "scary robot car".'

The cute-ification of the robot revolution is certainly real. Case in point, the dinky little food delivery bots with big blinking eyes that roam LA’s streets. But will New York's community of yellow cab drivers be won over by Waymo's curved edges and unthreatening design?

And what about safety? Waymo insists that its cars are safer than human-driven vehicles, coming out on top when comparing crashes over an equivalent amount of miles. Then there's the immeasurable impact of avoiding DUIs by Waymo-ing home from a bar rather than driving. However, Tesla, which is fast trying to move into the autonomous ride-hailing market, is coming up against safety concerns.

In Texas, Tesla's Robotaxi launch, which was set for 22 June this year, did go ahead, but has been slower than anticipated. While there are now less than a dozen Robotaxis on Austin's streets, they are only available via private invite and it could be some time before they're available to the general public. The tech differs from Waymo's, with Tesla taxis relying mostly on cameras to detect hazards and other vehicles, whereas Waymo uses a combination of sensors, lasers and cameras. The cameras, some experts feel, can be sensitive to poor light and fog, rendering them less reliable in certain weather conditions.

In Los Angeles, a bizarro glimpse at some kind of Back To The Future reality is fast becoming the norm. With a new 239,000 sq ft Waymo production facility in Phoenix, new partnerships with Hyundai and Toyota, and more Waymos hitting the streets, how long will it be before it's the human driver next to you at the traffic lights that makes you stop and stare?