Waymo opens driverless robotaxi testing to San Francisco employees

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, has begun offering its San Francisco employees fully autonomous rides, the company said Wednesday.

Waymo will begin its rider-only operations within its “initial San Francisco service territory,” which spans from the Presidio to the farthest corner of Candlestick Point, and gradually ramp up from there. To be clear, Waymo is not yet offering a service, which would require a “driverless deployment permit” from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Waymo has already scored a “driverless testing permit”, under which the company will be ferrying its employees sans human safety operator, and it secured a “drivered deployment permit” in autumn 2021.