Alphabet's self-driving unit, Waymo, has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to expand its robotaxi operations into additional areas of the San Francisco Peninsula and further south in the Bay Area, including San Jose. This development aligns with Tesla’s preparations to introduce a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and plans for expansion to California later in the year. According to a statement from the California Public Utilities Commission, cited by Reuters, Waymo's authorization received strong support from stakeholders with 23 positive responses and no protests.
Despite the recent nod from authorities, Waymo has stated that it will not immediately jump to full throttle on its expansion plans. "We want to bring Waymo One to more of the Bay Area, and any expansion of the service will happen methodically over time," a company spokesperson said, per Reuters. This was further emphasized by Waymo in a social media post, indicating their long-term vision for integrating Waymo One into the Bay Area's transportation fabric.
We’re very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose!
— Waymo (@Waymo) May 19, 2025
While this won’t change our operations in the near-term, we’re looking forward to bringing the…
According to TechCrunch, Waymo currently operates its commercial robotaxi services across 85 square miles, encompassing the city of San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The service area includes not just San Francisco but also parts of Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale. Waymo also plans to eventually access San Francisco International Airport, starting with mapping roadways, though those plans will unfold on a more extended timeline.
Waymo provides approximately 250,000 paid weekly rides in its autonomous vehicles across cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin. In the wake of concerns about vehicle safety, Waymo is also set to recall over 1,200 self-driving vehicles to update software and mitigate risks associated with collisions with roadway barriers. This recall comes as regulatory scrutiny over self-driving vehicle companies intensifies, especially after a high-profile accident in 2023 involving a robotaxi from General Motors' Cruise. Indeed, as the pioneers in uncrewed robotaxi services, Waymo seems committed to safely navigating, not just the roads, but the tides of public trust and regulatory compliance, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recent probe, as reported by Reuters.
