Autonomous rides are claiming even more territory across Southern California.
Waymo officially expanded its footprint on Tuesday, adding three major South Bay cities to its driverless map: Torrance, El Segundo, and Manhattan Beach.
The driverless vehicles now roam a 210-square-mile region across L.A. County.
New coastal destinations and Hollywood hotspots
Riders can now travel to Torrance, El Segundo, and Manhattan Beach in a driverless taxi. The Mountain View-based company also added high-demand tourist destinations to the network.
You can now catch a ride directly to Universal Studios and the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Earlier in May, Waymo launched its next-generation taxi. They dubbed the new model the Ojai. It costs less to deploy and handles extreme weather conditions much better.
The ongoing holdout at LAX
Despite the massive expansion, travelers face one major limitation. Passengers still cannot call a ride to or from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Waymo confirmed they are in active discussions with airport officials. LAX plans to integrate the automated taxis once the Skylink people mover is finally complete.
The transit project has faced multi-year delays since 2023. Authorities currently expect it to open in February at the earliest.
Safety records and local pushback
As the commercial fleet grows, the number of incidents also rises. Crashes involving Waymo taxis tripled last year in L.A. County. This data comes from a Los Angeles Times review of federal safety reports.
However, the overall crash severity remains incredibly low. Most incidents were minor fender benders. Around 80% of reported crashes resulted in zero apparent injuries.
Roughly 15% caused possible minor injuries, and less than 1% caused a suspected serious injury. Waymo reports their overall collision rate is falling. They post fewer crashes per million miles driven each year since 2023.
A growing nationwide footprint
Waymo offered fully autonomous rides in San Francisco since 2022 and Los Angeles since 2024. Today, the robotaxis operate in 15 cities across the U.S.
Over the summer, the vehicles arrived in San Diego, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Denver. On Tuesday, Waymo expanded its San Diego service north to La Jolla.
They also added more square miles to Nashville, Orlando, and the Bay Area. The San Francisco expansion includes a new direct connection to the Berryessa BART station.
The rapid rollout faces some hurdles. Some local officials in San Diego objected to the presence. They asked the state for more authority over deployment.
The company’s electric vehicles have also been taking up space at public charging stations in San Diego County.
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