Waymo To Test Driverless Cars In Santa Monica: Report

SANTA MONICA, CA — Waymo's self-driving cars will soon ditch human safety drivers and will begin running as fully autonomous cars in Santa Monica in the coming weeks, Forbes reported on Monday. These Santa Monica trials will serve as the initial test of the new development before expanding into Los Angeles, Waymo's chief safety officer Mauricio Peña told Forbes. Waymo first came to L.A. last October to begin their testing only carrying Waymo employees, with the goal of eventually providing a paid ride service to the general public. There is no timeline for when the public can expect to hitch a ride in the self-driving cars and the company is blocked from launching the service to the public until the California Department of Motor Vehicles issues them a permit to allow the rides.