Current location:Earthly Encounters news portal > entertainment
Waymo's robotaxi service expands into Los Angeles, starting free rides in parts of the city
Earthly Encounters news portal2024-05-21 15:58:27【entertainment】1People have gathered around
IntroductionWayMo's driverless taxi service expands to streets of LA 01:41
Robotaxis will begin cruising the streets of Los Angeles on Thursday when Google spinoff Waymo starts offering free rides to some of the roughly 50,000 people who have signed up for its driverless ride-hailing service.
Waymo is expanding into Los Angeles, the second largest U.S. city, seven months after California regulators authorized its robotaxis to begin charging for around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco. That came despite objections from local officials who asserted the driverless vehicles posed unacceptable risks to public safety.
Although Waymo isn't charging for rides in its robotaxis in Los Angeles to start, the company said in a blog post announcing the expansion that it will eventually collect fares from passengers there too. Waymo also hopes to begin commercial operations in Austin, Texas, later this year, a goal that makes its robotaxi service available in four major U.S. cities 15 years after it began as a secret project within Google. Waymo's robotaxis have been charging for rides in Phoenix since 2020.
For now, Waymo's free rides in Los Angeles will cover a 63-square-mile (101-square-kilometer) area spanning from Santa Monica to downtown.
Waymo is launching operations in Los Angeles two weeks after the California Public Utilities Commission approved the expansion in a decision that once again overrode the concerns of city transportation officials about robotaxis coming to sudden stops that block roads and the potential for driverless vehicles to malfunction in more serious ways that could jeopardize lives.
The worst fears about robotaxis were realized in San Francisco last October when a vehicle operated by Cruise, a driverless ride-hailing service owned by General Motors, dragged a pedestrian who was hit by another car operated by a human for 20 feet (6 meters) while traveling at roughly 7 mph (11 kph) before coming to a stop. The incident resulted in California regulators suspending Cruise's state license and triggered a massive shakeup at that service.
Waymo's robotaxis so far haven't been involved in any major accidents.
More from CBS News
Address of this article:http://burkinafaso.cassettedesign.com/html-28d299895.html
Very good!(4387)
Related articles
- I was 'brokefished' by my friend for £400
- Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates
- Messi in and Dybala out in Argentina squad for pre
- Shohei Ohtani's first walk
- Messi in and Dybala out in Argentina squad for pre
- Storms damage homes in Oklahoma and Kansas. But in Houston, most power is restored
- Strictly star Giovanni Pernice's former partner Rose Ayling
- The unstoppable duo of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos
- Mohammad Mokhber: Who is Iran’s acting president?
- Brazil replaces injured goalkeeper Ederson in Copa America squad
Popular articles
Recommended
Adams, Reyna, Turner, Ream are US concerns ahead of Copa America
Insider Q&A: CIA's chief technologist's cautious embrace of generative AI
Saudi Arabia is going to sponsor the WTA women's tennis rankings under a new partnership
Revealed: Brit tourist, 19, subjected to sex attack in Majorca 'was gang
California congressman urges closer consultation with tribes on offshore wind
Investigators return to Long Island home of Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect
Justin Timberlake set to bring his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour to Australia in 2025
The government wants to buy their flood
Links
- China's porcelain capital attracts migratory foreign designers
- Titian's masterpiece Flora breathes vibrancy into Sino
- China issues stamps featuring UNESCO site Pingyao ancient city
- Highlights of Hong Kong Open 2023
- Highlights of Hangzhou Asian Games
- China releases typical cases endangering national security
- Former WWE star 'Shooter' Tony Jones dead at 53 as tributes pour in to 'a true legend'
- Box office hit sparks boxing frenzy
- Prehistoric ruins dig into cave
- Country lifestyle attracts people to village