“Waymo is one step closer to charging passengers for fully driverless rides in San Francisco,” reports Engadget:

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has granted the company a Driverless Pilot permit, which allows it to pick up passengers in a test vehicle without a driver behind the wheel. It’s only the second participant in the CPUC’s Driverless Permit program, with Cruise being the first.

By securing the permit, Waymo now has the authority to offer driverless rides throughout San Francisco, portions of Daly City, as well as in portions of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. Its vehicles are allowed to go as fast as 65 miles per hour and can operate 24/7, but the company can’t charge for the rides just yet. Waymo told Engadget that it will begin offering free rides without a driver to select members of the public in the coming weeks. To note, the company has been offering free driverless rides to the public in Phoenix since 2020.Â

In a statement the CPUC’s Commissioner said that “We are seeing momentum build in this space and are working to assure the safe expansion of the driverless pilot program.” The state agency says their permit “Represents a milestone for driverless passenger service, expanding the potential availability of driverless AV rides to more Californians and increasing opportunities for public engagement in the pilot.”

But the agency also points out that Waymo “may not charge passengers for any rides in test AVs.” (The ability to charge for driver-less rides requires a separate permit…)

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot – Waymo Will Soon Offer Some (Free) Fully Driverless Rides in San Francisco