California has officially given Waymo a green light to expand its commercial services beyond San Francisco after temporarily suspending the autonomous vehicle company's request last month.
State regulators sent the Alphabet-backed company a letter on Friday stating that the company's request to expand had been approved, effectively allowing Waymo to roll out its plans for expanding into parts of San Mateo, Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties.
“We’re grateful to the CPUC for this vote of confidence in our operations, which paves the way for the deployment of our commercial Waymo One service in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula," a spokesperson for Waymo said in a statement.
The California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates autonomous vehicles in the state, had temporarily suspended Waymo's expansion request last month pending further staff review.
The commission said it had received 81 responses in support of Waymo's plans, and five responses in protest.
Those protesting the expansion included the city of South San Francisco, San Mateo County, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance.
"Though Waymo’s Advice Letter suggests it has engaged in outreach with local governments and other stakeholders on the Peninsula, I don’t believe that this engagement has meaningfully included the County of San Mateo," an attorney for the county wrote in its protest letter. "This is a matter that has potential to be controversial and it does, in fact, raise important policy considerations."
In its protest letter, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority called for a formal hearing, rather than a quick review, and said the commission was moving too quickly without "appropriately considering the public safety impacts" or going through a proper environmental review.
And the Los Angeles Department of Transportation said in its protest that it was "concerned that Waymo’s unimpeded service expansion without local consultation, collaboration, and oversight will undermine the goals of the Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division goals and may cause harm to Angelenos and the City of Los Angeles."
