Waymo Unleashes Robotaxis on Bay Area Highways This Week

Waymo, Alphabet’s robotics company, plans to begin testing its self-driving cars on Bay Area freeways this week. Self-driving cars will be introduced on high-speed roads and the company’s employees will test them.

Sandy Karp, Waymo’s communications manager, told Gizmodo that the company has been “safely and gradually expanding” its highway operations and that the new rollout will ultimately help “Waymo One passengers get to their destinations safely and efficiently throughout our region.” growing areas of help.” Karp said: “Taking a freeway instead of an overpass in San Francisco” would “significantly improve the passenger experience” by making the ride shorter. He added that the ability to “use freeways will be very important as we expand our operations to other cities, such as Los Angeles and Austin.”

Karp also noted that the company will be “following the same procedures outlined in our safety framework, which is backed by years of safe and proven experience operating passenger-only vehicles on public roads across California and Arizona and millions of miles of experience.” Karp said vehicles “will comply with the speed limit (65 MPH).”

California previously gave Waymo permission to test its vehicles on San Francisco freeways in March. That same month, the company began testing its self-driving cars on freeways in Phoenix, Arizona, where the cars have seen widespread adoption in the local community. The company says these cars can move between lanes and use ramps and exits without the help of a human driver.

If that seems like a recipe for disaster, there are no disasters—for now, anyway. But it’s not like the process of making the rideshare industry exactly easy. Ever since robotaxis invaded the Bay Area last year, self-driving cars have had some unique moments. They have been attacked, protested, falsely accused of blocking an ambulance, and, in the case of one unfortunate car, set on fire by an angry mob. Although Waymo’s business seems to be doing well, its competitor, Cruise, has faced many problems, eventually withdrawing all of its vehicles from nationwide distribution.

There are many kinks to be worked out. Indeed, this week, a San Francisco resident reported that he has been hearing robotaxis buzzing at night. He apparently lives near one of the parking lots that they live in in the evening and says that the cars can be heard screeching at 4 in the morning.

When Gizmodo was reached for comment, a representative for the company provided the following statement: “We are aware that in some cases our vehicles may honk slightly when navigating our parking lots. We have found the cause and are in the process of fixing it.”