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If you live in Northern California, you know this already. In a few years, driverless cars will be everywhere. You will likely use them if you travel to the city. If you live in a town of any substantial size, you or someone you know will likely use them.The numbers on the increase where they are currently permitted are simply amazing. In less than a year, the Google company called Waymo has increased its weekly ride volume from 10,000 in August 2023 to more than 250,000 today. It has passed 10 million successful trips. These cars are everywhere on the...

The Los Angeles Police Department also urged people to steer clear of downtown because burning lithium-ion batteries can release toxic fumes.Waymo has cut off taxi service to parts of Los Angeles after five of its self-driving vehicles were torched during weekend protests about immigration raids.Images Sunday of downtown show Waymo vehicles covered with graffiti. One photo shows protesters waving Mexican and Guatemalan flags while standing atop a Waymo vehicle, while another appears to show a protester hitting the vehicle with a skateboard. The Los Angeles Times reported that some Lime e-scooters also were tossed into the blaze.Waymo confirmed Monday that...

As police struggled with another day of unrest in downtown L.A., several Waymo autonomous taxis were set on fire, sending thick plumes of black smoke billowing high into the air. The dramatic images were captured during an afternoon of clashes between large groups who were protesting immigration raids by the Trump administration and L.A. police who were trying to maintain order. Protesters converged on the Civic Center area of downtown L.A. on Sunday morning, spilling onto the 101 Freeway around 3:30 p.m. The roadway was then closed to traffic for several hours as California Highway Patrol officers worked to push...

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson 🚨BREAKING: Several Waymo vehicles have been torched by rioters in Los Angeles. Over half a million dollars in damages. From Brendan Gutenschwager 8:35 PM · Jun 8, 2025

In a dramatic escalation of tensions during recent protests in Los Angeles, several of Waymo’s autonomous vehicles were vandalised, with one being completely destroyed by fire. The incidents occurred over the weekend in downtown LA amidst demonstrations against federal immigration raids. The driverless Jaguar I-PACE vehicles, which have become an increasingly common sight on the streets of Los Angeles, found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Footage circulating on social media shows the stark image of a Waymo car engulfed in flames, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the sky. Other vehicles from the fleet...

There’s a battle brewing in Santa Monica with a fleet of unmanned, electric Waymo vehicles on one side, and exhausted, weary locals on the other. City officials, a judge and even police have been forced to intercede after residents who say the self-driving cars are a nuisance have banded together against the local 56-vehicle fleet. They’ve reached out to the city. They’ve called Waymo. Now, some are trying unconventional tactics. Using cones, cars and sometimes themselves, residents have taken to blocking the Waymos from entering their company-funded parking lot, so much so that the company has called the cops on...

(SAN FRANCISCO) – Teamsters are calling on the San Francisco Ethics Commission to investigate Waymo, the autonomous vehicle (AV) subsidiary of Google, after several of the company’s employees illegally failed to register as lobbyists for meetings with San Francisco International Airport (SFO) officials. Waymo was pressuring the officials for access so their driverless cars could “map” the airport. “These companies know that their products are unpopular, unsafe, and bad for working families, so they’re trying to steamroll policymakers and the public by putting AVs on the road before anyone has a chance to find out just how dangerous they are,”...

Key Points Alphabet reported revenue of $90.23 billion and earnings per share of $2.81. The company’s shares rose as much as 4% on stronger-than-expected revenue growth. Alphabet’s search and advertising units are still showing strong growth despite AI competition heating up, according to its first-quarter earnings report. =========================================================== Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter growth on Thursday after the bell. Shares rose more than 5% in after-hours trading. Here’s how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG: Revenue: $90.23 billion vs. $89.12 billion, estimated Earnings per share: $2.81 vs. $2.01, estimated...

Waymo, one of the companies at the forefront of driverless tech, confirmed to KTLA that it will begin testing fully autonomous passenger cars on L.A. freeways this week. Fully autonomous for Waymo means “without a human driver.” The driverless white vehicles with radar gizmos attached to the roof and sides have already been ferrying riders on city streets across the area, from Santa Monica to downtown L.A. However, this is their first time conducting driverless tests on the interstates. “Our initial testing will begin on the 10, 110, 90, and 405 (freeways),” Waymo told KTLA 5 News. The initial tests...

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology advocates tout a variety of potential benefits when it comes to widespread AV implementation. However, the most important benefit is an increase in safety compared to the average human-driven vehicle. Nevertheless, with high-profile incidents like the Cruise accident last year that resulted in a pedestrian injury, convincing the public that AVs are indeed safer might be something of a challenge. Now, a new website published by Alphabet’s Waymo AV division highlights some of the statistics around driverless vehicle safety. Waymo currently operates a fleet of autonomous, all-electric vehicles across the U.S. as a means of developing...

One parking lot in San Francisco is becoming the breeding ground for seemingly confused self-driving cars gathering at night and honking at each other. Nearby resident Randol White captured footage of the Waymo self-driving vehicles taking over the parking lot and seemingly becoming stuck, and resulting in consistent honking at each other. The noise has kept residents in the area up at night, with reports stating several people in the nearby buildings have also complained about the noise. "Over the past two weeks, I've been woken up more times overnight than I have combined over 20 years," said Russell Pofsky,...

33-year-old Vincent Maurice Jones entered a Waymo Jaguar sedan that had just dropped off another passenger on Main Street, just north of 1st Street in Downtown Los Angeles. Officers say Jones got into the driver’s seat and tried to manipulate the system to put the vehicle into drive. A Waymo employee spoke with Jones through the car’s communication system and instructed him to leave the vehicle. When Jones didn’t follow the employee’s request, the representative contacted LAPD. Officers arrived on the scene a short time and placed Jones under arrest for attempted grand theft auto.

A crowd in San Francisco's Chinatown surrounded a Waymo robotaxi on Saturday night, broke the windows and threw fireworks inside, setting the vehicle ablaze, the company said.

Waymo is tapping the brakes on self-driving trucks and shifting most of its capital, resources and talent to one commercial bet: ride-hailing. The move, which was announced Wednesday in a company blog post, comes six years after Waymo first tested its autonomous vehicle system in Class 8 trucks. The company emphasized the decision was driven by the commercial opportunities in applying its autonomous vehicle technology to ride-hailing. Robotaxis (or ride-hailing using driverless vehicles) have always been a centerpiece of Waymo’s plans. However, many AV developers pivoted to logistics and delivery because it was viewed as the better nearer-term economic bet....

A self-driving car went rogue in Arizona, stalling, then speeding off before assistance could arrive. A YouTuber caught the nearly 20-minute episode on video from the backseat of the car.... ...About 12 minutes into the ride, the car attempted to turn into a lane that had been blocked off with construction cones. Mid-turn it stopped and the rider called an online tech for help...before roadside assistance could get there the car sped off only to stop in the middle of the road, forcing the cars behind it to go into oncoming traffic in order to pass the vehicle. The situation...

Waymo’s fully driverless vehicles are doing passenger trips in the suburbs outside Phoenix, Arizona. We got to experience it first hand, and our ride included a close brush with a construction site, a wrong turn, and a flock of pigeons. But more importantly, it got us thinking about what it means when Waymo says the future is driverless, and what we lose when we eliminate human driving. Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__EoOvVkEMo Link to article: https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/9/21000085/waymo-fully-driverless-car-self-driving-ride-hail-service-phoenix-arizona

Waymo on Wednesday launched a commercial robot ride-hailing service in Arizona called Waymo One. Like Uber or Lyft, customers will summon a ride with a smartphone app. But in this case, the car will be driving itself. Only “a few hundred customers” will have access to the app and participate in the early stages. Although the cars will drive themselves, a Waymo engineer will sit behind the wheel in case anything goes wrong. Waymo did not say when the cars will start arriving without a human minder or when the program will be expanded. Waymo’s cars, Chrysler Pacifica minivans bristling...

“We’ve tailored our partnerships to meet the top rider needs; in fact, the partnerships below represent eight of the top ten activities our riders do when they get in a Waymo,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the partnerships. Here are the company specific rides Waymo will be providing customers: Walmart: Customers will be offered savings to place orders for groceries on Walmart.com. As the orders are being prepared at a local store in the Phoenix area, Waymo vehicles will transport customers to and from Walmart to pick up their groceries. AutoNation: As customers are having vehicles serviced...

MESA, Ariz. - Police in a Phoenix suburb say a self-driving Waymo vehicle was among five cars involved in a collision, but no serious injuries were reported.

John covered this story last night, but the death of a pedestrian struck by a self-driving Uber vehicle in Arizona should have ramifications for the entire idea of autonomous vehicles. (Something I’ve been concerned about for a couple of years now.) After covering the initial reports from the accident, John concluded with the following observations and questions. There will be an investigation of this accident as well, but my first thought is to wonder why the human ‘backup driver’ didn’t stop the car and prevent this. Reliable self-driving cars and trucks may still be a couple years away but it’s...