Waymo opens Ojai robotaxi service to all passengers across three cities
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Waymo has fully rolled out its Ojai model vans to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, ending a limited-access trial that began earlier this year. The purpose-built robotaxi, promoted for its extra space and backseat entertainment features, marks the second expansion Waymo has announced within a week, following newly granted permission to operate its driverless cars in Sacramento and San Diego.
Despite the vehicle's name, Waymo is not yet operating in the town of Ojai, California itself. The wider release follows a rockier period for the company's freeway services, which launched in November but were suspended in May after a recall triggered by vehicles entering closed construction zones, with highway access only reinstated in July.
- Waymo's Ojai robotaxi vans now open to all riders in LA, Phoenix, SF
- Second Waymo expansion this week, after Sacramento and San Diego approval
- Follows earlier freeway service suspension and recall over construction zone errors
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Waymo is the driverless-taxi arm of Google's parent company Alphabet, and it already runs paid robotaxi services in several US cities, including Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. It operates using self-driving cars fitted with sensors and software that let them navigate without a human driver, and passengers book rides through an app much like a conventional taxi service. The "Ojai" is a newer, larger vehicle model that Waymo has built specifically for this service, distinct from the modified regular cars it originally used.
Robotaxis remain a closely watched and sometimes contentious technology, as companies compete to prove driverless vehicles can operate safely and reliably at scale in real city traffic. Waymo is widely seen as the front-runner in the United States, having logged millions of paid rides, but the industry as a whole still faces scrutiny over safety incidents and regulatory approval in new areas. How smoothly new vehicle types and expanded routes are rolled out is one of the ways analysts judge whether the technology is maturing.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Autonomous vehicles represent genuine technological progress that can enhance road safety and provide better transportation options for consumers. Waymo has demonstrated a commitment to responsible deployment through phased testing and has addressed safety concerns cooperatively with regulators. Expanding to multiple cities allows the company to gather essential operational data and continue refinement whilst meeting evident consumer demand. A more cautious approach that delays deployment indefinitely would only defer the safety and efficiency benefits that widespread autonomous transport could ultimately provide.
The case against
Concerns about safety readiness remain legitimate given Waymo's recent recall and temporary suspension of freeway operations, which exposed gaps in the system's handling of real-world scenarios such as closed construction zones. Rapidly expanding to multiple cities before these technical issues are fully resolved risks normalising technology that may not yet be sufficiently reliable for urban deployment at scale. There are also substantial implications for hundreds of thousands of professional drivers whose livelihoods are at stake, suggesting that a more measured expansion would better balance technological progress with worker protection and social stability.
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Originally published by Engadget as “Waymo Ojai vans are now available for all riders in three cities”.