""It's a milestone. It's a major milestone for Waymo. They are trying very hard to cover the whole state," said Ahmed Banafa, tech expert and professor at San Jose State University. "This is just confirming that California is the cradle for technology, and this kind of technology should expand here and people should get a taste of driverless or robotaxis.""
""There are so many challenges they're going to face. Scaling, you know, whatever. So far, they have to have manufacturing workers. They have to, you know, modify many, many other cars. So, it's coming to the whole state," Banafa said. "The other thing is safety. It's a big concern, safety. The issue with the driverless taxis, or robotaxis, one incident is high profile.""
""We appreciate the DMV's approval of our expanded fully autonomous operations. We're proud to provide over one million safe, reliable, magical rides every month in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and we're looking forward to opening our service to more Californians.""
""Maybe, you know, if it becomes cheaper than, like, Lyft driver services, then maybe. But if not, I don't think so,""
Waymo received California DMV approval to expand fully autonomous robotaxi operations to the North Bay, East Bay and eastward to Sacramento. The service currently gives rides from San Francisco to the South Bay, and cross-bay ride ordering is not yet available. Tech expert Ahmed Banafa called the expansion a milestone and said California remains a cradle for technology while warning about scaling, manufacturing, vehicle modification needs and safety risks from potential high-profile incidents. Waymo reported providing over one million rides monthly in San Francisco and Los Angeles and plans to open service to more Californians. Waymo vehicles were already spotted in Alameda, and public reaction was mixed, with cost cited as a key factor for rider interest.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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