‘I feel safer around a Waymo.’ Expansion of autonomous robotaxi service has supporters cheering
Your morning catch-up: Waymo is expanding, L.A.’s famed Pershing Square is renamed after Biddy Mason and more big stories.
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The recent expansion of the autonomous robotaxi service Waymo to new cities was met with support from ride-hail users but also from a few surprising groups.
Thousands of people signed up for rides as early as Tuesday, when the fully electric vehicles launched in San Diego, Denver and Tampa.
My colleague Caroline Petrow-Cohen documented the company’s victory in August, when the California Public Utilities Commission gave Waymo the green light to expand into Marin, Napa, Orange and Riverside counties, among other places.
The expansion battle was met with resistance from labor unions and safety advocates who decried Waymos “dragging down [of] labor standards” and glitches that blocked first responders during emergencies.
However, a contingent of pro-autonomous vehicle backers, many from a group of 29 organizations that advocated on behalf of Waymo to the CPUC, celebrated the expansion ruling.
Essential California spoke with some of these groups to see what drove their support.
‘A life-changing experience’
Among Waymo’s champions was Jessie Wolinsky, a disability advocate and member of Maryland-based Foundation Fighting Blindness.
The 33-year-old legally blind San Francisco resident said Waymo offers a “life-changing experience” and a level of independence that other ride-hailing apps can’t.
“This was the first time I was able to be in a vehicle by myself,” Wolinsky said. “Getting into a car with a man at whatever hours of the night, I have some unsettling stories, as many women do … and this is about being safe from sexual assault.”
Wolinsky said she’s ridden Waymos throughout the Bay Area 644 times over the last few years, first as part of a tester program and later as a consumer.
She said she is sympathetic to the labor issue created by self-driving cars, noting that the blind community struggles with unemployment as well.
However, she said she trusts self-driving vehicles over “some human drivers who do some crazy [things].”
Accessibility is strength
For Chris Cate, president and chief executive of San Diego’s Regional Chamber of Commerce, Waymos bridge consumers and businesses.
He noted that older and physically impaired San Diego residents and workers can struggle to find commuting options, and doesn’t see the harm with adding another choice to complement existing ride-hailing and public transit options.
He’s perhaps most excited about the company’s growth into downtown San Diego and its denser neighborhoods.
“I think about our larger employment centers and people needing that last mile connection to work,” he said. “Waymo does that while also offering service to the many restaurants and businesses in a really core, urban area.”
Trusting non-human drivers more
While technological advances in automobiles have improved safety for drivers and passengers, that isn’t the case for road-sharing cyclists.
The number of preventable bicycle deaths soared 37% from 1,015 nationally in 2015 to 1,392 deaths in 2024, according to the National Safety Council, while the number of people who bicycle regularly has been relatively stable for the last several years.
Kendra Ramsey, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition, sees the expansion of Waymo as a safety benefit, rather than a concern.
Her organization is dedicated to advocacy for bicycle riders and improved roadway safety.
“Waymo has been very open and enthusiastic with the bicycling community about how their vehicles might be able to improve roadway safety,” Ramsey said. “And we’ve been impressed with how Waymo engineers have been thoughtful about how to better incorporate bicyclists’ behavior.”
She noted that Waymo’s vehicles are attentive to obstructions in bicycle lanes that may force a cyclist to leave the safety zone, while human drivers are less gracious.
“I’ve spoken with bicyclists in the Bay Area who say, kind of ironically, ‘I feel safer around a Waymo,’ because you can just cut it off and it will stop,” she said. “A human driver might not.”
The week’s biggest stories
Change and concern in Los Angeles
- L.A’s famed Pershing Square is being renamed after Biddy Mason, founder of L.A.’s First AME Church. The L.A. City Council voted unanimously to rename the five-acre park.
- Payouts from L.A. County’s $4-billion sex abuse settlement have been delayed to two of the largest law firms.
- A study says nearly 6,000 homeless people could be displaced by the L.A. Olympics.
Fuel and vehicles
- President Trump is trying to terminate EVs in California.
- He is moving to strip California’s emissions authority, end tax credits and erase electric vehicle sales mandates.
- Surging diesel fuel prices hit a milestone as prices slam California’s economy, from trucks to crops.
Fear nature
- Yosemite National Park officials are warning of a rabies-infected bat three months after it was discovered.
- A woman attacked by a river otter at Lake Tahoe was bruised, bloodied but sure one skill saved her.
More news
- Mayor Karen Bass has returned campaign donations from leaders of an anti-gang nonprofit after an L.A. Times inquiry.
- A spatula-wielding hero leaps through a Lake Elsinore In-N-Out window to protect workers.
- The driver of a stolen Mercedes led police on an erratic, slow-speed chase through South L.A.
- Mercury General’s pioneering founder, George Joseph, dies at 104.
- ‘Wheel of Fortune’ show announcer Jim Thornton was fired after a pedophilia chat room incident.
Editor’s pick
An abandoned Mulholland Drive home in L.A. is drawing neighbor anger over fire risks, trash, and graffiti. Local residents are calling for action.
More picks
- A gun store opened next to a daycare. It could change laws in Goleta.
- Opinion: Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman is the comeback kid of L.A. politics.
- Opinion: Kawhi Leonard is a Hall of Fame scam artist who deserves Clippers fans’ boos.
- Opinion: NBA drops the hammer on the Cheatin’ Clippers, and they can’t shed the stink.
Things to do
- 🥬 The reliable farmers’ market isn’t about picking out the best peaches or produce, but about building relationships and connecting with your community.
- 🖼️ Transgender Chicana artist Neveah Marquez invites guests to confess at Riverside Museum of Art.
- 🍗Here are 8 great places for Atlanta-style lemon pepper wings in L.A.
Today’s recipe
When you think about a fantastic pizza, one selection near the top should be the Pizza Margherita. The dish was created in Naples, Italy, in the 19th century and is about as classic as you can get. Here’s a simple recipe.
Photo of the day
Games
Here’s today’s mini crossword, plus our other free, daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jack Dolan, investigative reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
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