Waymo only just reached Los Angeles earlier this year, but that isn't stopping it from expanding further. The company is expanding its Waymo One ride-hailing service to Austin. The first phase starts this fall, with completely driverless operations and public rides coming in the months ahead. The coverage will be "truly useful," Waymo claims -- it should cover major stretches of the Texas capital, including the downtown core as well as well-known areas like Barton Hills and Hyde Park. You can join a waitlist today.

A Cruise AV, General Motor's autonomous electric Bolt EV is displayed in Detroit on Jan. 16, 2019. California regulators on Thursday gave Cruise's robotic taxi service the green light to begin charging passengers for driverless rides in San Francisco. A Cruise AV, General Motor's autonomous electric Bolt EV is displayed in Detroit on Jan. 16, 2019. California regulators on Thursday gave Cruise's robotic taxi service the green light to begin charging passengers for driverless rides in San Francisco. California regulators on Thursday gave a robotic taxi service the green light to begin charging passengers for driverless rides in San Francisco, a first in a state where dozens of companies have been trying to train vehicles to steer themselves on increasingly congested roads.

California regulators on Thursday gave a robotic taxi service the green light to begin charging passengers for driverless rides in San Francisco, a first in a state where dozens of companies have been trying to train vehicles to steer themselves on increasingly congested roads. The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously granted Cruise, a company controlled by automaker General Motors, approval to launch its driverless ride-hailing service. The regulators issued the permit despite safety concerns arising from Cruise's inability to pick up and drop off passengers at the curb in its autonomous taxis, requiring the vehicles to double park in traffic lanes. The ride-hailing service initially will consist of just 30 electric vehicles confined to transporting passengers in less congested parts of San Francisco from 10pm to 6am. Those restrictions are designed to minimize chances of the robotic taxis causing property damage, injuries or death if something goes awry.

The Knesset has passed legislation that will allow companies to pilot autonomous shared transportation, like taxis, with passengers in the vehicle but without a safety driver on Israeli roads. The bill, proposed by the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety, passed in second and third readings in the plenum and paves the way for Mobileye, Intel's autonomous driving subsidiary, to move ahead with plans to roll out "robo-taxis" and ride-hailing services in Tel Aviv this year. Russian company Yandex has also been testing self-driving cars in Israel since late 2018, as global carmakers like Ford, Toyota, and Hyundai invest in models with self-driving systems. The Israeli legislation allows companies and vehicle operators to obtain special licenses from the Ministry of Transportation and to conduct trials with autonomous cars "including for the purpose of transporting paying passengers" and "where an independent driving system replaces the driver," according to the announcement. This bill offers regulation on issues like insurance and different permits and establishes supervisory bodies as well as an advisory committee with representatives from relevant stakeholders.

It has been more than a decade in the making, but Waymo's self-driving taxis are officially picking up passengers without a human operator at the wheel. A group of early rider program members in Phoenix, Arizona received a message on this week offering them a free ride with the fully driverless service. Once the passenger is seated and the ride is underway, the car dials Waymo support to address any questions or concerns about the driverless ride – as many riders have never been carted around by a robot. It has been more than a decade in the making, but Waymo's self-driving taxis are officially picking up passengers without a human operator at the wheel. This car is all yours, with no one up front,' the pop-up notification from the Waymo app reads.

Waymo's driverless car service is heading to Phoenix before the end of the year. CEO John Krafcik took to the stage at Google's I/O 2018 developers conference today to reveal the firm's plans to extend its self-driving car rides to members of the public in just a matter of months. Waymo has been testing out the technology on public roads in the metropolitan area through it's'early riders' program – but soon, anyone will be able to download the app and hail a ride. CEO John Krafcik took to the stage at Google's I/O 2018 developers conference today to reveal the firm's plans to extend its self-driving car rides to members of the public in just a matter of months The latest announcement suggests Waymo could now be leading the race to develop self-driving cars in the US, as several firms vie to bring the futuristic plan to life. According to Krafcik, Waymo's driverless ride-hailing service will be available to the public in Phoenix later this year.

Google-owned Waymo announces a deal with Jaguar to buy 20,000 I-Pace Jaguars and turn them into a self-driving car fleet. NEW YORK -- Waymo, the company that grew of out of Google's self-driving car project, announced a deal to buy up to 20,000 electric cars over the next two years, a move that shows the scope of its ambition when it comes to driverless ride-hailing services. More: 401(k): What stocks, industries are vulnerable in a trade war? More: Heineken pulls'Lighter is Better' commercial after some call it'racist' The company said it planned to buy the electric version of a Jaguar SUV, the I-Pace, to create its fleet of cars. The vehicles would then be fitted with components to make them capable of piloting themselves without a driver. The company says the fleet would be capable of handling 1 million rides a day.

Alphabet Inc's Waymo self-driving unit is launching a ride-hailing service for the general public with no human driver behind the steering wheel. And, the firm has been testing such fully self-driving cars on public roads in Arizona, Chief Executive John Krafcik said on Tuesday. The announcement by Krafcik at the Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon is a major advance in the roll-out of fully autonomous vehicles. The firm recently unveiled a self-driving minivan that it hopes could revolutionize the way we travel. It showed off the technology at the closely-guarded'fake town' dubbed The Castle, 120 miles southeast of San Francisco While self-driving car companies test their vehicles in public, they routinely have a human in the driver's seat ready to take over if the technology fails.