Waymo is preparing to launch its driverless ride service for the public in San Diego, with the company saying it hopes to begin picking up customers in the next few months.
The autonomous vehicles have already been driving around San Diego, including Hillcrest, but have so far been picking up Waymo employees as the company trains its technology on local streets.
“The last few months we’ve been training the Waymo driver to learn the San Diego streets like a local,” said Waymo Communications Manager Sandy Karp.
Karp invited NBC 7 along for a ride as Waymo prepares to make the service available to the public. Like other ride-share services, a Waymo vehicle pulls up to pick up its passenger. The major difference is that no one is behind the wheel.
“Humans can be great drivers, but they could be tired or drunk, the Waymo isn’t susceptible to any of that,” added Karp.
Passengers can start the ride by pressing a button. Although there is no human driver, riders can still ask the robotaxi questions.
The vehicles use cameras that can see up to 500 meters away, according to Waymo. If a ride needs to change, the vehicle can adjust, including finding a place to pull over.
“They just hit the door button and it initiates a pullover. It’s going to find the safest place to pull over next and for us it was right there,” said Karp.
The state of California has given the green light for autonomous vehicles to operate in certain cities, but public opinion remains mixed.
Waymo has also experienced problems as it has rolled out its vehicles in other cities, including vehicles blocking traffic and others entering construction sites.
Karp said each experience leads to changes across Waymo’s fleet intended to prevent the same problems from happening again.
Waymo has not announced an exact date for public rides in San Diego, but the company said it hopes to begin picking up customers in the next few months.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.