Waymo is the autonomous-car leader in California, and appears to be laying the groundwork for an eventual self-driving taxi service.
The state’s Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday gave permission for the unit of Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, +1.15% GOOG, +1.21% to take part in California’s Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service pilot program, though it may not charge riders and an operator must be behind the wheel.
Waymo was also granted an exemption from the state which will allow it to use third-party safety drivers behind the wheel. “Operating and scaling a meaningful pilot requires a large group of drivers who are more efficiently engaged through Waymo’s experienced and specialized third-party staffing providers,” Waymo said in an exemption-request letter dated Feb. 15.
A Waymo spokesperson said Tuesday there was no timetable for rolling out a self-driving taxi-like service in California and that for now, the service will be limited to Waymo employees and their guests around Silicon Valley.
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