The Brief<\/p>\n
Waymo is heading to freeways in select regions around the U.S., including the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
Part of the company’s expansion efforts, announced Wednesday, also includes service in San Jose and at San Jose Mineta International Airport.<\/p>\n
Waymo operates a fleet of more than 1,500 electric cars around the U.S.<\/p>\n
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Next time you’re on the freeway or in San Jose, you may see a car without a driver.<\/p>\n
Waymo<\/a>, the Mountain View-based autonomous car company, is heading to freeways in select regions around the U.S., including the Bay Area.<\/p>\n Part of the company’s expansion efforts, announced Wednesday<\/a>, also includes service in San Jose and to and from San Jose Mineta International Airport.<\/p>\n Travelers can hail a car through Waymo’s app and the autonomous car will wait at the airport’s ground transportation areas at either Terminal A or B.<\/p>\n “Waymo\u2019s arrival at San Jos\u00e9 Mineta International Airport demonstrates our City\u2019s commitment to innovation and world-class service,” San Jos\u00e9 City Manager Jennifer Maguire said in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n Waymo’s autonomous cars were authorized to operate at the San Jose airport in September<\/a> \u2013 marking the first airport in California and the second in the world to allow the service.<\/p>\n The company’s South Bay expansion was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission back in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Whether you\u2019re taking a ten-minute ride from San Jose Mineta International Airport to Levi\u2019s Stadium or headed up 280 to San Francisco, there couldn\u2019t be a better moment for Waymo\u2019s autonomous vehicles to expand across the Bay Area,” San Jos\u00e9 Mayor Matt Mahan said Wednesday.<\/p>\n The company’s co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov called Waymo’s autonomous freeway operations a “profound engineering feat.”<\/p>\n “This milestone is a powerful testament to the maturity of our operations and technology,” he said. “We are proud to begin offering riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix trips that use freeways as we continue to scale the Waymo Driver, always guided by safety.”<\/p>\n Waymo operates a fleet of more than 1,500 electric cars<\/a> around the U.S.<\/p>\n The company’s expansion <\/a>to freeways will start in the Bay Area, Phoenix and Los Angeles, with more cities expected in the future.<\/p>\n Waymo benefits and controversies<\/p>\n Dig deeper<\/p>\n Waymo has made headlines since it’s launch in San Francisco in 2022 \u2013 including cases involving pedestrian injuries<\/a>, crashes <\/a>and vandalism<\/a>. Most recently, the car company was blamed for the death of a cat<\/a> in San Francisco’s Mission district.<\/p>\n Since the cat’s death, a San Francisco leader has advocated for legislation that would give the community more of a say in how autonomous vehicle technology is used.<\/p>\n Self-driving cars are currently regulated by the DMV and California’s Public Utilities Commission.<\/p>\n “The future of autonomous vehicles should be decided by people, not tech oligarchs and their politicians,” said San Francisco District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder.<\/a><\/p>\n The cat, affectionately named KitKat, was fatally struck by a Waymo last month.<\/a><\/p>\n At the time, a Waymo spokesperson said the cat<\/a> had darted under one of the self-driving cars as it was pulling away with passengers.<\/p>\n In September, there was pushback in San Francisco<\/a> after Waymo was approved to operate on San Francisco’s previously car-free Market Street.<\/p>\n Autonomous vehicles generally provide benefits to the environment and economy , according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.<\/a><\/p>\n