Alphabet's self-driving technology companyWaymoAnnounces a major operational milestone: its fully driverless autonomous vehicle fleet will be officially approved to drive in [location missing].Highways in three major U.S. citiesThe first wave of reopenings includes San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.
This move marks a significant breakthrough in the practicality of Robotaxi (autonomous taxi) services, moving beyond the limitations of urban surface roads and enabling them to more effectively meet the needs of long-distance commutes and airport transfers.
Expanding public services, the San Francisco Peninsula extends to San Jose.
Waymo did not specify how many vehicles were approved for road use, only stating that they would be made available to more members of the public.
In terms of service coverage, Waymo has particularly emphasized its expansion plans in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its current service area is quite extensive, extending south from downtown San Francisco, across the entire Peninsula region, reaching San Jose, and even covering San Jose Minnetta International Airport (SJC).
This means that consumers will be able to use Waymo for daily commutes, airport transfers, or even simple road trips between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. For drivers on the road, seeing driverless cars with rotating LiDAR sensors on their roofs on highways will become a new everyday sight.
Emphasizing millions of miles of testing, future plans include Atlanta and Austin.
Addressing the high speeds and complexities of highway driving, Waymo emphasizes that its vehicles have accumulated "millions of miles" of testing mileage on highways and possess the ability to "skillfully handle highway dynamics."
Regarding future expansion plans, Waymo says it plans to roll out similar highway services in cities such as Austin and Atlanta.
In addition, Waymo announced plans to bring its fleet of self-driving cars to San Diego, Detroit, and Las Vegas by 2026. However, the service in these new cities will not initially include highway sections.
