USA Robotaxi company Waymo now without a waiting list in San Francisco

The robotaxi company Waymo has reached a milestone: in San Francisco, there is no longer a waiting list for the service and all interested parties can create an account immediately.

The Google sister company emphasized on Tuesday that it had been working towards this day for years with a gradual offer. Waymo robotaxis are on the road in Phoenix in the US state of Arizona as well as in San Francisco and Los Angeles in California. They are now allowed to drive completely without humans at the wheel.

In the streets of San Francisco in particular, the white Waymo Jaguar I-Pace cars with cameras and laser radars are now part of the cityscape. As a tourist, however, it is still more difficult to get a Waymo ride: the required app is still not available in foreign app stores.

50,000 rides per week

Waymo emerged from Google's robot car program and is now particularly advanced in the development of technology for self-driving cars. The company's robotaxis now make more than 50,000 journeys per week.

At the same time, Waymo has recently come under the scrutiny of the US authorities following a number of incidents. These include a situation in which the driverless car crossed into the opposite lane to overtake a group of e-scooter drivers. The maneuver ended safely. Waymo emphasizes that the software is safe and steers the cars carefully.