The idea of driverless taxis has been floating around for a while now. In California, they are already a reality: In March, the state approved the expansion of Waymo robotaxis to begin operating in Los Angeles and on the San Francisco Peninsula.

On March 1, 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission decided that Waymo could begin operating driverless robotaxis in Los Angeles and San Francisco. This decision was approved despite the objections of local authorities in both areas. Already, Waymo (formerly the Google Self-Driving Car Project), is operating driverless robotaxi services in San Francisco and Phoenix. The successful application means that the company can now operate paid taxi services in additional areas.

Protests centred on the safety issue of robotaxis. General Motor’s Cruise robotaxis have been involved in crashes, stalled traffic, and blocked emergency vehicles in San Francisco. Local leaders are asking for more participation in decisions involving driverless vehicles. The Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission had also received letters in support of the expansion. A total of 81 organisations supported the application, including the American Council of the Blind, the California Bicycle Coalition, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Safety worries and potentials

Waymo is a US-American autonomous driving technology company with headquarters in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. Its robotaxis are now allowed to use the highways in Los Angeles and the Bay Area with speeds of up to 65 mph (104 km/h) where applicable. The company has also received permission to expand its service areas. It has promised to do so carefully and incrementally, given that there are many worries about the safety of robotaxis.

Apart from sometimes holding up traffic and being involved in car crashes, driverless cars like Waymo and Cruise vehicles have also crashed into cyclists and pedestrians on a few occasions. Waymo has focused on improving its technology and safety practices as a condition for its expansion.

In a resolution from February 2024, California decided to prioritise local control in the deployment of autonomous vehicles. This explains why Waymo & Co. are on the roads of some, but not all cities of the state. Supporters of driverless cars call for further expansion, highlighting the safety potential and the accessibility as well as economic and environmental benefits of Waymo’s service.

“I’m all electric”

In the debate around autonomous vehicles, their safety remains the key question. In December 2023, Waymo published a study that put the crash rate of rider-only vehicles at 85% less than those of vehicles with human drivers. On the other hand, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Cruise and requires vehicles with automated driving systems to report crashes. Between June 2021 and May 2022, the Administration had received reports of 130 crashes. 108 of them involved no injuries.

An overall lack of regulation of the still-new technology of driverless vehicles is another reason for worry. In addition, inadequate transparency and data collection make it difficult for politicians and the public to form opinions and decisions around robotaxis. At the same time, operators are looking to add more and more cities to their portfolio, with Houston and Dallas as the relaunch cities for Cruise.

On April 1, 2024, Waymo won the hearts of many riders with an April Fool’s joke: The robot voice announced to riders that the car needed to stop for gas. “Just kidding”, it added after a few moments, “I’m all electric.”

Less need for driverless taxis in Europe

In Los Angeles, Waymo’s robotaxis debuted in March 2024 after a year of testing. The first rides were available to people on the waitlist, which was 50,000 long. The company is now transitioning to a paid service, covering 63 square miles of Los Angeles. With competitor Cruise having temporarily lost its permit after crashing into a pedestrian in October 2023, Waymo is striding ahead.  However, both companies have received negative press for issues such as running red lights, blocking public buses, and getting in the way of emergency responders. Despite criticism, Waymo is setting its sights on other cities such as Austin, where service could begin later in 2024.

So far, robotaxi testing and implementation has happened mostly in the US and in China. This is slowly changing now, with Europe and a few other countries catching up. Overall, there is less need for driverless taxis in Europe since public transport is much better than in the US, for example, leading to lower needs for ride-hailing. Regulation is another challenge for robotaxis in Europe. The EU’s General Safety Regulation is setting the tone and could allow robotaxi testing. The United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Korea Israel, France, and Germany are some countries where driverless car companies have been conducting experiments. But until these vehicles become regular occurrences, there is quite a way to go – and keeping an eye on Waymo’s successes and challenges in California won’t hurt.

Read more: Lars Riemann designed a prototype for a narrow autonomous car called “Snap Up” that doesn’t need a garage.