Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet, is expanding its autonomous ride hailing service Waymo One, in San Francisco and Los Angeles to meet customer demand.
Saswat Panigrahi, Waymo chief product officer said: “We’re committed to California, where many of our team members call home, so it’s really special to be able to bring the benefits of full autonomy to even more people in San Francisco and Los Angeles.”
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In June, Waymo removed its waitlist for its San Francisco service, citing high demand.
The firm started commercial operations in Los Angeles in March, with 150,000 people singing up to the waitlist. Waymo said it had been expanding deliberately to align vehicle supply with rider demand.
The expansion would be brought into the San Francisco Peninsula. In Los Angeles, the firm said it would expand into more of Hollywood and other areas.
The announcement comes as rivals such as General Motors’ Cruise and Amazon’s Zoox are investing heavily in self driving cars to drive commercial success, despite increased regulatory scrutiny.
Last Month, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said it had planned a US$5bn investment in Waymo over a multi-year period, Reuters reported.
