Waymo waitlist over in SF; all can hail driverless cars

Passengers in San Francisco hoping to hail a ride with a driverless car can now do so instantaneously with the Waymo app.

The driverless vehicle company, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced Tuesday it is doing away with its waitlist for would-be passengers, allowing anyone with a working credit card to download the company’s app and order a pickup with a self-driving car.

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“The wait is over,” Waymo announced on its blog Tuesday morning. “Starting today, anyone can hail a ride.”

To date, nearly 300,000 people in San Francisco have signed up for the ride-hailing service, according to Waymo. Since the company began offering driverless rides in the city more than two years ago, Waymo says its vehicles have logged more than 3.8 million miles while providing rides to passengers across the city.

Waymo driverless cars roam roadways in SF, LA, Phoenix, Austin

Nationally, Waymo boasts roughly 700 driverless cars on public roadways. While about 300 of those vehicles are in San Francisco, the rest of the fleet is deployed across Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, according to a Waymo spokesperson. The autonomous vehicle company says its driverless cars collectively have shuttled passengers more than 20 million miles since 2019.

Despite the seemingly long distances Waymo and other driverless car companies have traveled in recent years, transportation experts believe the high-tech vehicles still haven't been on the road long enough to be able to fairly compare their safety records against that of humans, who regularly travel more than 3 trillion miles across the U.S. each year.

Waymo representatives declined to be interviewed but, in a statement posted on the company’s website, noted the company's commitment to ensuring its technology protects all road users.

“Safety leads everything we do at Waymo,” the statement said. “This step in our journey builds on over 15 years of experience building safe and convenient autonomous driving ever since we took our first rides on the streets of Palo Alto back in 2009.”

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Federal transportation officials launch safety probe into Waymo

Federal transportation officials recently launched a safety investigation into Waymo, citing more than 30 incidents involving “crashes and potential traffic safety law violations,” including collisions with gates and parked vehicles. The probe, opened last month by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, also cites Waymo vehicles driving into construction zones and “opposing lanes with nearby oncoming traffic.”

In response to the NHTSA investigation, a Waymo spokesperson said the company stands by its safety record.

“We are proud of our performance,” the statement said. “NHTSA plays a very important role in road safety, and we will continue to work with them as part of our mission to become the world’s most trusted driver.”

Since July 2021, the NHTSA has required driverless car companies to disclose each time one of its autonomous vehicles is involved in a collision, regardless of whether the self-driving vehicle was at fault. NHTSA records indicate Waymo’s vehicles have been involved in more than 20 accidents resulting in some type of injury. Of those collisions, NHTSA records indicate only one incident resulted in a serious injury. In Waymo’s description of the accident, the company noted the injury last November stemmed from another car, driven by a human, running a red light in San Francisco, striking the Waymo vehicle as well as nearby pedestrians.

Waymo has done away with its waitlist for new passengers in San Francisco, allowing anyone to download the company’s app and instantly order a ride with a driverless car. Raj Mathai speaks with Bigad Shaban on this.

NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit delves into safety concerns, lack of oversight

Over the past year, a series of reports from the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovered serious safety issues as well as a continued lack of oversight involving autonomous vehicles. In fact, the Investigative Unit uncovered a legal loophole that allowed driverless car companies to avoid receiving traffic tickets when their vehicles violated the rules of the road. The report caught the attention of the California Legislature, which is now taking up proposed legislation aimed at closing the loophole.

Most recently, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovered concerns from school crossing guards across San Francisco, who explained they have almost been hit by Waymo driverless cars repeatedly while helping guide children and their families along crosswalks.

“The parent grabbed the child and looked at the car -- there was nobody driving it,” said Theresa Dorn, a crossing guard of 11 years. “It did not recognize me in the intersection.”

Waymo says while it's proud of its safety record, it recognizes the importance of ensuring that other road users "feel confident and comfortable" with its emerging technology.

"We want to be good members of the communities we operate in and appreciate the ongoing dialogue we have with the other road users and regulators," the company said.