"Waymo, the self-driving taxi company owned by Alphabet, contacted at least one Oakland councilmember earlier this year. And officials from Oakland's airport say they're meeting with Waymo representatives in the near future. Councilmember Zac Unger told The Oaklandside he spoke with a Waymo representative named Noelle Duong in April. According to Unger, Duong said Waymo is "thinking about coming to Oakland" but he couldn't recall if they talked about a specific date."
"Waymo is not currently permitted to operate fully autonomous taxis in the East Bay. But the company is permitted, throughout all of California, to operate autonomous vehicles with a human driver behind the wheel in case they're needed. In response to questions about Waymo's possible expansion, company spokesperson Ethan Teicher said, "We want to serve more of the Bay Area in the future. We are currently engaging with Bay Area officials and autonomously driving with a specialist behind the wheel throughout the region.""
Autonomous self-driving cars operate in San Francisco but not yet in Oakland. Waymo contacted at least one Oakland councilmember and airport officials and is considering expansion into Oakland while continuing autonomous driving with a specialist behind the wheel across the Bay Area. State rules allow companies to operate autonomous vehicles with a human safety driver statewide, but fully driverless taxi operations are not permitted in the East Bay. Tesla has also contacted Oakland's airport about robotaxi operations. Oakland airport requires ride-hailing companies to apply for permits to gain pick-up and drop-off permissions at OAK.
Read at The Oaklandside
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