Waymo Implements Permits For Autonomous Vehicle Operations In California

The Waymo autonomous taxi is already operating in San Francisco. (photo: @UWpayea)

One of Alphabet Inc's subsidiaries Waymo, reported by Reuters, on Tuesday, December 13, has applied for the necessary permits in California, before being able to lease fully autonomous vehicles.

The decision, submitted Monday to the California Public Utilities Commission, could take months. Cruise, owned by General Motors Co's, is the only company to have the permit and has been charging costs for driverless travel in San Francisco since last June.

The two companies are pioneers in an effort to show that autonomous transport can become a widely available and profitable service. Meanwhile, the condition of the hills in San Francisco, the weather, and the narrow road make it the main proof of the autonomous vehicle. GM plans to expand operation of these autonomous vehicles to more cities next year.

Andrew Chatham, a software engineer at Waymo, said the company has updated software that controls braking and acceleration to reduce nervousness and has gone as a whole beyond the target this year in relation to driving behavior.

According to Chatham during the Friday 9 test drive on December, the more "tight" autonomous driving system explains in part how the finer acceleration and braking recorded by a Reuters reporter compared to last year's similar driver,

In last Friday's test Waymo was able to be patient. When a double parking driver looks slow to make space for the car to pass on a one-way road, Waymo doesn't honk. "The vehicle usually sounds only when the spare car is too close," said Chatham, a company veteran for 13 years.

Waymo, which describes its driverless service as a "only driver", has been carrying passengers who have paid a fee in San Francisco since May in a driverless car but with a human presence as a backup driver.