Waymo Gains Approval to Charge for Robotaxi Rides in San Francisco
Waymo officially receives a permit to charge passengers for autonomous ride-hailing trips in San Francisco, though a human safety operator remains behind the wheel. This milestone marks a crucial step toward full commercialization for the Alphabet subsidiary.
Waymo secures a new permit from the California Public Utilities Commission that allows the company to charge riders for autonomous trips in San Francisco. Despite the commercial approval, a human safety operator still sits behind the wheel during these journeys. This regulatory win represents one of the final hurdles for Waymo as it moves toward full commercialization in the city.
The company follows a careful, step-by-step approach to launching its paid service, mirroring the strategy it previously uses in Arizona. Waymo currently operates a free Trusted Tester program with a waitlist of tens of thousands of users. In the coming weeks, the company expands this program to offer paid rides around the clock to these vetted individuals within its designated San Francisco service area.
Waymo operates a fleet of approximately 100 autonomous Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in the city to support this expansion. A company spokesperson emphasizes that this gradual rollout, which starts with a safety operator and later transitions to rider-only mode, remains deeply rooted in their focus on safety. Eventually, Waymo plans to remove the human operators entirely, just as it successfully does for thousands of fully autonomous trips in Arizona.