Overview
- An amended California DMV permit posted Friday authorizes fully autonomous operations across the entire Bay Area, east to Sacramento, and a Southern California corridor from Santa Clarita to San Diego.
- The approval covers Waymo’s Jaguar I‑Pace and Zeekr RT platforms for driverless testing and deployment within the newly defined regions.
- Paid ride-hailing in new areas, including San Diego, still requires a separate CPUC driverless deployment permit and other regulatory clearances.
- Waymo reports providing over 1 million rides per month in San Francisco and Los Angeles and says it recently launched fully autonomous driving in Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando.
- Recent incidents and expert commentary have kept safety questions in view as regulators and local officials continue oversight of autonomous operations.