Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors' Cruise, have both been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission and can provide self-driving paid ride services in downtown San Francisco around the clock.
Before this, only Cruise was allowed to provide paid ride services at night. During the rest of the time, it only accepted advance requests for ride experiences and could not provide paid rides. Waymo was only allowed to test self-driving cars in downtown San Francisco, but could not provide paid ride services.
Earlier, it was approved in a 3-1 vote to expand its self-driving car service and provide paid ride services in downtown San Francisco around the clock, indicating that the San Francisco government is still optimistic about the future application feasibility of self-driving cars.
Following the approval, Waymo stated that it will gradually launch a paid ride service in the coming weeks and expects to provide a safer self-driving ride service in the future. Cruise, on the other hand, emphasized that it will continue to work with regulators to provide safer, cleaner, and more convenient transportation options.
Waymo has currently deployed 200 self-driving cars in San Francisco, while Cruise has deployed 300 self-driving cars. It is expected that adjustments will be made in the future to meet the demand for expanded services.
