Waymo Launches Fully Driverless Ride-Hailing for Employees in San Francisco
Waymo kicks off fully autonomous rides for its San Francisco employees, marking the first time a company operates driverless ride-hailing in multiple cities simultaneously. The milestone builds on years of successful driverless operations in Phoenix.
Waymo officially begins fully autonomous ride-hailing operations in San Francisco, using an all-electric Jaguar I-PACE with no human driver behind the wheel. The company starts by offering these driverless rides to its own employees, allowing them to integrate the technology into their daily commutes. This milestone makes San Francisco the second city where Waymo operates fully driverless vehicles, joining its ongoing service in Arizona.
This expansion builds directly on the valuable data Waymo gathers from its San Francisco Trusted Testers over the past six months. It also draws on years of operational experience from the Phoenix East Valley, where Waymo launches its Early Rider Program in 2017 and begins fully autonomous public rides in 2020. Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana emphasizes that lessons from both cities heavily influence how Waymo introduces this rider-only technology in San Francisco.
Alongside the San Francisco launch, Waymo announces plans to expand its Phoenix service into the Downtown area. The company notes that this is the first time any business simultaneously runs fully autonomous ride-hailing operations across multiple cities. Waymo views this achievement as a major step forward in scaling its autonomous fleet and refining its overall operational expertise.