Apparently Waymo, the autonomous vehicle arm of Alphabet, is taking its robotaxis on tour this fall. The first stop is Los Angeles.
Why?
It is a prelude to what the company said is a wider service launch for its autonomous vehicles. Phoenix has been the headquarters for Waymo having originally launched services in 2017. In 2022, it expanded testing to San Francisco and started additional testing in Los Angeles in only a few districts. Recently in Arizona, Waymo started rider-only service in without a safety driver and just this year Uber added the Waymo robotaxis to its ride-hailing platform.
The tour will begin an expansion of service in Los Angeles to multiple stops like downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Westwood, West Hollywood and Venice Beach. Tour stops will also include popular Los Angeles neighborhoods for a limited time before moving on to other areas.
Los Angeles residents that sign up for service will be given tickets to ride to unlock the autonomous vehicles tour. All the rides will be free.
Waymo will be hosting pop ups to give out early access tickets and others can sign up for a waitlist through the Waymo One app.
