Waymo Self-Driving Car, the autonomous driving division of Alphabet Inc, announced on Friday that it has applied to the California Public Utilities Commission to expand its driverless service in Los Angeles.
If approved, this license would grant Waymo the ability to fully operate its autonomous vehicle fleet in Los Angeles, the largest city in California. Currently, Waymo is conducting tests in the city, offering rides only through invitation.
As of now, there has been no immediate response from the Utilities Commission regarding Reuters’ request for comments on the matter.
In a recent social media post on platform X, the company expressed its commitment to collaborate with Los Angeles policymakers, first responders, and community organizations in the launch of its ride-hailing service. However, specific details about the service’s commencement date were not provided.
Earlier this month, Waymo announced plans to initiate testing of its fully autonomous passenger cars without a human driver on freeways in Phoenix, Arizona, where it already offers rides in the metropolitan area. Additionally, the company has aspirations to extend its operations to Austin, Texas.
It’s worth noting that Waymo delayed its efforts to develop commercial autonomous trucking technology last year, following increased regulatory scrutiny of autonomous driving software.
In a similar vein, General Motors’ Cruise driverless car unit took a pause on all supervised and manual car trips in the U.S. last year after an accident led to the suspension of driverless vehicle operations.