Driverless taxis now offering rides in LA

Photo from waymo/Instagram

Remember those doodles of futuristic cities when you were a kid? They’re becoming a reality sooner than you think. The future is here.

If you need a lift in Los Angeles, the taxi that picks you up might not have a driver. From flying cars to flying taxis, trust this era of innovation to make it all happen. 

Since April 10, 2024, Waymo, the self-driving taxi company has rolled out their paid rides in Los Angeles following the green light from state regulators last month. 

Marking the expansion of their autonomous taxi services, Waymo initially gave free test rides for those who signed up and is now set for the real deal. 

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No driver behind the wheels and technology steering the cars — this is the future of public transportation. Waymo’s driverless cabs use an all-electric Jaguar I-Pace, all decked out with cameras, lidar, radar and an AI that navigates smoothly and safely albeit the traffic. 

Where are the driverless taxis available?

Soon, Angelenos will have the cutting-edge option of hailing a cab sans a human driver, and similar to Uber and Lyft, rides can be booked through an app – Waymo One. 

They can choose to sit at the driver’s side or at the backseat. But unlike car services with a human driver, there’s no one to engage in small talk as all the cars are fully controlled by a computer software. 

The company’s fleet has been allowed to operate across Los Angeles County, including these areas:

• Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Inglewood, East Los Angeles and Compton.
• Bell, Bell Gardens, Carson, Commerce, Cudahy, Culver City, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Huntington Park, Lawndale, Long Beach, Lynwood, Manhattan Beach, Maywood, Paramount, Redondo Beach, South Gate, Torrance, Vernon and West Hollywood.

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Regulatory approval

The California Public Utilities Commission has given Waymo the green light to operate across Los Angeles County. This regulatory framework is essential to Waymo’s expansion. 

Amid the burgeoning innovation in public transportation, local responses vary, with LA Mayor Karen Bass advocating for close examination of these automated services.

However, even with its approval, the official timeline for when Waymo plans to deploy its driverless taxis is still under wraps. A spokesperson for Waymo underscored their services’ safety and accessibility, saying that the company will “take a careful and incremental approach to expansion.”

Waymo’s Product Management Director Chris Ludwick shared his excitement with NBC news: “The reception from Angelenos so far has been exceptional, and we look forward to welcoming more riders into our service over time.”

With this new innovation, Waymo is steering the public closer to the future where technology takes over the wheels.