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Waymo’s autonomous taxis now offering trips on LA freeways. Here’s what you need to know
A Waymo car drives along a street on March 1, 2023, in San Francisco. The company now is offering select freeway rides in Los Angeles.
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Justin Sullivan
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Los Angeles residents who want to take Waymo’s autonomous taxis beyond the city streets can do so now that the company is offering select trips on freeways throughout the L.A. area. The move comes after Waymo conducted test rides in the region with company employees for nearly a year.
Why now: The company announced Wednesday that it will start offering freeway trips to users in L.A., San Francisco and Phoenix.
Waymo was given the regulatory go-ahead by the California Public Utilities Commission last year to drive on freeways in L.A.'s 120-square mile service area, which currently spans from Santa Monica to Echo Park.
How it works: People who use the Waymo app can now opt into a “freeway list” of riders interested in “being among the first to experience a freeway ride directly in the app,” according to the company.
Waymo said riders will be matched with freeway routes when they're “meaningfully faster” than the surface streets. Before a trip is confirmed in the app, users will receive a notification if the route they’ve selected doesn’t involve freeways.
What officials say: Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEO of Waymo, said fully autonomous freeway rides are easy to conceive but “hard to truly master.” He said the company is proud to begin offering the option.
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“This milestone is a powerful testament to the maturity of our operations and technology,” he said in a statement.
What's next: Freeway routes will gradually roll out to more users over time, according to the company. Waymo didn’t immediately respond to LAist’s request for an interview.
LAist took the self-driving cars for a test ride from downtown L.A. to Koreatown last fall and reviewed our experience. We may try out a freeway route as well.
Read on … Waymo is taking on LA freeways. Keep calm and carry on
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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