\n
![](\"https:\/\/content.fortune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1788127454-e1709404837154.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
California regulators on Friday authorized Waymo to expand services of its fleet of robotaxis into Los Angeles and to cities on the peninsula south of San Francisco.<\/p>\n
The California Public Utilities Commission approved Waymo\u2019s application for the expansion of its self-driving taxi operations beyond San Francisco starting Friday. The company owned by Google<\/a> parent Alphabet Inc. has also been operating the service in Phoenix since 2020.<\/p>\n In a post on X, formerly Twitter<\/a>, Waymo called the commission\u2019s approval a \u201cvote of confidence in our operations, which paves the way for the deployment of our commercial Waymo One service in LA and the SF Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n Waymo\u2019s cars have become a fairly common sight on the streets of San Francisco, although they are not universally popular and have been known to\u00a0come to sudden stops<\/a>\u00a0that have backed up traffic in the city.<\/p>\n The expansion for Waymo comes after California authorities\u00a0revoked the license<\/a>\u00a0of a rival robotaxi service owned by General Motors<\/a> after determining its driverless cars that had been transporting passengers throughout San Francisco were a dangerous menace. A robotaxi run by that company, Cruise,\u00a0ran over a pedestrian<\/a>\u00a0who had been hit by another vehicle driven by a human, and then pinned the pedestrian under one of its tires after coming to a stop.<\/p>\n Officials in San Mateo County and Los Angeles had opposed the expansion and want more local say over how robotaxis can operate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n