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After proving itself in the fog-shrouded hills of San Francisco, Waymo One is headed to Hollywood.
The Alphabet-owned autonomous ride-hailing company announced a six-month tour across Los Angeles that will give Angelenos the chance to sit in traffic sans a driver to chit-chat with. The demo is meant to stoke excitement for a coming rollout of full service in what will be the company’s second California city—and the country’s second largest metro area.
The move comes just weeks after Waymo and other robotaxi companies won permission to expand service in San Francisco from the California Public Utilities Commission, the latest gain in a big year of growth for the long-stalled tech. Waymo has been testing driverless cars in LA since February.
Taxis on tour: Waymo plans to make month-long stops in six different neighborhoods or cities across the LA area, starting with Santa Monica and Venice Beach on October 11. Other stops will include Century City, West Hollywood, Mid City, Koreatown, and Downtown LA.
Starting next month, the company will distribute early-access passes for the demo period via pop-up events and an online waitlist. Tickets will allow holders to hail free rides for a week at any time in the given service area that month.
Speed bumps: Waymo isn’t the only robotaxi company coming to LA; General Motors-owned Cruise also said it would begin testing in the city, according to Slate, as the company fans out its own service to cities across the US.
The breakneck growth of robotaxis hasn’t been without its hiccups, though. In the same week that the CPUC made its decision last month, 10 Cruise vehicles stalled out due to what the company blamed on connectivity issues in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, causing a major traffic jam. Another Cruise car drove into wet cement.
The incidents prompted the company to reduce its fleet by half in the city while California’s Department of Motor Vehicles investigates, according to CNBC.