Business
Waymo is getting ready to tackle Los Angeles' freeways. How have the robotaxis fared so far?
Waymo’s fleet of electric, self-driving taxis has been on the streets of Los Angeles for a few months now. And in a post on X this week, the company announced it was set to take on the most L.A. of frontiers: the freeways. At first, only Waymo employees will be able to ride along as the driverless SUVs navigate the 10 or the 405 and the company did not say when it expects to open up the new terrain to paying passengers.
After launching in San Francisco and Phoenix, Waymo arrived in Los Angeles in November. It attracted an initial wait list of around 300,000 people before becoming available to anyone who downloaded the service’s app, a company spokesperson said. Expansion plans include Atlanta, Miami and Austin, according to the company’s website.
Waymo has already driven 1.9 million miles in Los Angeles. Its short history, perhaps inevitably, hasn’t been without some bumps that have raised concerns and prompted a series of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigations. Last month, for example, a customer posted a video of the Waymo he was riding in repeatedly driving in circles and deviating from the set route, he said. The customer was delayed for five minutes and then driven to his destination, Waymo told The Times.
How did Waymo make it to Los Angeles?
Waymo operates around 100 taxis in Los Angeles, which are currently confined to a 79-square-mile area that spans from Santa Monica and Marina del Rey to West Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles. Until the announcement this week, the taxis had been programmed to steer clear of highways and freeways within the city.
The company got its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, which began in 2009 and put its first autonomous car on the road in 2015. The project rebranded as Waymo in 2016 under Google’s parent company Alphabet and launched its driverless ride-hailing service known as Waymo One in 2020.
Before coming to L.A., Waymo launched in Phoenix and San Francisco, where collectively the vehicles have driven tens of thousands of riders more than 30 million miles without a human driver.
Waymo spent months testing vehicles in Los Angeles with humans in the driver’s seat before launching fully autonomous service, available 24/7 through an app that functions similarly to Uber and Lyft.
How safe are Waymo vehicles?
Waymo’s stated goal is to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities through autonomous driving technology, which they describe on their website as “the world’s most experienced driver.” Although incidents involving Waymo vehicles generate attention, the vehicles are safer than human drivers, according to data collected by insurer Swiss Re.
Based on data collected by Waymo, their driverless vehicles had 81% fewer airbag deployment crashes, 78% fewer injury-causing crashes and 62% fewer police-reported crashes than traditional vehicles driving the same distance. Waymo vehicles rely on cameras, sensors and a type of laser radar called lidar to operate autonomously.
Despite its solid track record, there have been several accidents and technological blips since the rollout of Waymo One. The company recalled 444 vehicles last February after two minor collisions in quick succession, and the NHTSA opened an investigation in May into 31 incidents that raised safety concerns.
A Waymo taxi collided with a cyclist in San Francisco last year and another vehicle crashed into a pole in Phoenix in May. Customers have reported various glitches on social media, including one Reddit user who posted a video of a Waymo driving the wrong direction into oncoming traffic.
The company has also faced scrutiny over security concerns after members of the public have interfered with the vehicles, damaged them and attempted to steal them. In October, two pedestrians stalled a Waymo by standing in its path and demanded the customer give them her phone number.
Earlier this month, a man in downtown Los Angeles got in the driver’s seat of a Waymo vehicle and attempted to drive off before being stopped by police.
What happens when something goes wrong?
While riders can contact a human Waymo representative by clicking a button during their trip, some have taken to social media to report their dissatisfaction with the company’s problem-solving abilities and customer service.
Mike Johns, a Los Angeles man who got stuck inside a circling Waymo in Arizona, said the person who answered his help call was not able to immediately get his vehicle to pull over. Another customer in San Francisco said they waited more than 45 minutes for roadside assistance after their Waymo malfunctioned and stopped its trip.
Waymo vehicles cannot be controlled remotely by a human, the company said, but trained drivers can operate a vehicle in-person when necessary. The company also has a “fleet response” program that allows human agents to communicate directly with vehicles in challenging situations.
According to the company, if a Waymo encounters a situation it cannot navigate, it is programmed to contact a human fleet response agent who will evaluate the Waymo’s surroundings and provide the vehicle with assistance on how to proceed. In some cases, a human can remotely map a route for a Waymo to take to avoid an obstacle.
Has the company had success?
Waymo, which operates more than 100,000 paid rides each week and has around 700 white Jaguar I-PACE SUVs across its markets, was valued at more than $45 billion in November after its latest round of funding.
By putting fully self-driving vehicles on public roads, Waymo has achieved what Elon Musk and Tesla have not yet been able to. Musk often exaggerates the abilities of the so-called Full Self-Driving mode available in Teslas, which cannot function without a human driver present. Musk unveiled a prototype for an autonomous Cybercab in October, but it’s not clear when the product will launch.
Waymo once faced competition from Cruise, a driverless taxi company founded in 2013, but the company was effectively shut down last month when its owner, General Motors, said it would stop investing in its self-driving vehicles.
Cruise’s demise followed a grisly crash in San Francisco in 2023, in which a driverless Cruise vehicle struck a woman and dragged her for several feet, causing critical injuries. The company suspended all operations after the incident, but began testing with a human driver present several months later in Phoenix, Houston and Dallas.
The luxury shopping center in Pacific Palisades will reopen next month after more than $100 million in renovations forced by the January 2025 wildfire that devastated the Los Angeles neighborhood.
Palisades Village will reopen Aug. 15, owner Rick Caruso announced Wednesday. The outdoor center survived the blaze that destroyed homes and other businesses but needed refurbishment to eliminate contaminants that the fire could have spread.
Crews are putting finishing touches on mall buildings after tearing them down to the studs, treating the wood and rebuilding the walls, Caruso said.
“Everybody’s working, and stores are moving their products in,” he said. “It’s a really cool feeling that people have really locked arms and are working together.”
An electrician installs lighting for a restaurant at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village on Thursday. The shopping center is scheduled to reopen mid-August.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Pacific Palisades resident Allison Polhill, who is rebuilding the home of 30 years that her family lost in the blaze, said she is “thrilled” at the prospect of returning to the mall she used to frequent. Its comeback is a boost for the community, she said.
“Every single step that we make to reopen our commercial corridors is going to bring more people back into the Palisades,” said Polhill, who expects to move back into her home at the end of August.
A total of 6,822 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, including more than 5,500 residences and 100 commercial businesses, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Caruso previously attributed the mall’s survival to the hard work of private firefighters and the fire-resistant materials used in the mall’s construction.
The $200-million shopping and dining center opened in 2018 with a movie theater and a roster of upmarket tenants, including Erewhon, which may be the only grocer in the heart of the fire-ravaged neighborhood when it opens.
Caruso’s company was able to fill the mall with tenants despite the long shutdown.
Palisades Village is 99% leased, with the majority of tenants returning, said Jackie Levy, chief financial and revenue officer. Nearly one-third of the shops and restaurants are new to the property.
A firefighter carries a hose back to his rig while walking through a destroyed home from the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Last year, Pacific Palisades-based fashion designer Elyse Walker said she would reopen her eponymous store in Palisades Village after losing her 25-year flagship location on Antioch Street to the inferno.
Other neighborhood shops destroyed in the fire that are reopening at the mall include K Bakery and Loomey’s Toys, which caters to children up to age 12 and used to be across the street from Palisades Elementary Charter School.
“It’s been a journey and I’m excited because I wasn’t sure that there was going to be a place to come back to,” said toy store owner Amanda Rastegar. “Hopefully we can bring some of that magic back.”
Rastegar’s home in the Palisades survived but was damaged by the fire. The family returned about eight weeks ago. Her last memory of the fire was a burning supermarket.
“I just couldn’t wrap my brain around what was happening,” she said. “By the time I left, Gelson’s was on fire.”
Among the returning tenants is Angelini Ristorante & Bar. Well-known Los Angeles chef Gino Angelini said he will be in the kitchen next month for a return of the Italian restaurant.
“We won’t do a big celebrity open,” he said. “We want to have a very soft opening and see our customers come back.”
Construction takes place at Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village on Thursday. The shopping center is scheduled to reopen mid-August.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
An elaborate celebration would not feel “correct for me,” Angelini said, because the devastation has been “very sad” for so many.
Other new tenants include local chef Nancy Silverton, who has agreed to move in with a new Italian steakhouse called Spacca Tutto. Women’s activewear retailer LESET will open its first West Coast location.
Caruso said he is optimistic that customers will return to the center, even though many Pacific Palisades residents are still dispersed. One tracking system estimated that about 30% of the Village’s customer base was impacted by the fire, he said.
“That means 70% did not get impacted, so there’s a lot of customers still left out there,” Caruso said. Historically, the center drew customers from as far away as Beverly Hills and Calabasas, as well as Malibu, Brentwood and Santa Monica.
He also hopes many will be inspired to visit the revived mall.
“I believe in the goodness of people and I believe that people are going to want to support the Palisades,” he said. “They’re going to want to be there and support the businesses that have had the courage and the heart to reopen.”
Walmart is rapidly expanding its network of electric vehicle chargers designed for customers to use while they shop.
The network could help fill gaps in EV infrastructure in states with greater need for chargers. Walmart, which has more than 5,000 locations in the U.S. and hundreds in California, says more than 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of one of its stores.
The chargers also offer an incentive for customers to choose Walmart — Walmart Plus members will receive a 10% discount off an average price of $0.46 per kilowatt-hour of energy at the company’s chargers.
Walmart chargers are already available at more than 75 locations in 17 states, with Texas boasting the most charging stations, followed by Florida and Arizona.
Matthew Nelson, Walmart’s director of energy policy, said last week on LinkedIn that the network will soon reach 29 states, including California.
“We are delivering on the promise of affordable, reliable and convenient charging,” Nelson said in his post.
According to Walmart’s website, six charging stations are coming to California soon, though the company did not offer a specific timeline.
The chargers will be installed at stores in Antelope, Brea, Fresno, Stockton, Suisun City and Vallejo.
Most charging sites in California will include eight to 16 fast-charging stalls, said Walmart spokesperson Kelsey Bohl.
The company first announced plans in April 2023 to install its own EV chargers at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, with a goal of installing thousands of chargers by 2030. Partnering with ABB E-Mobility and Alpitronic, it added 25 new charging sites this past May and six more in June.
“Walmart is building a leading retail-integrated EV fast-charging network, focused on delivering an affordable, reliable and convenient charging experience where customers already shop,” Bohl said in an emailed statement. “Customers can charge while they shop, access stations through the Walmart app they already use, and benefit from affordable pricing.”
The charging stations already available include 612 individual charging stalls using 400-kilowatt chargers. Each stall has a dual charging cord with both Combined Charging System and North American Charging Standard connectors. The standard connectors, designed by Tesla, are smaller and lighter than the combined systems.
The primary way to pay for the chargers is through the Walmart app, but the company is also experimenting with built-in credit card readers to allow those without the app to use the stations.
Customers can check charger availability on the Walmart app. The company said the chargers will be available 24 hours a day.
Robotaxis could be turning into robocops.
A self-driving Waymo reported two teens to San Mateo, Calif., police on Monday after they were found drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns in the back of the vehicle.
According to a social media post from the San Mateo Police Department, officers detained two 15-year-olds after the Waymo they were riding in contacted the department and stopped in a parking lot until law enforcement arrived.
“Parents do you know where your teens are?” the San Mateo Police Department wrote on Facebook following the incident. “Waymo does!”
Officers removed both teens from the vehicle and determined they were using toy guns to shoot Orbeez out the windows. Orbeez are small, water-absorbing beads sold at toy stores.
“Toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye,” the Police Department said. “The simple handling of them can cause fear in [passersby].” “
A video posted on Facebook shows at least five officers and a police dog responding to the scene and approaching the Waymo with their weapons raised.
Waymo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Waymo vehicles have internal cameras and microphones that may be used in an emergency or to “promote safety and security,” according to Waymo’s online support page.
The cameras are also used to ensure the vehicles are clean and to help find lost items, according to the support page.
The company said it does not use facial recognition or other biometric identification technologies to identify individuals.
“In more urgent circumstances, support may access live video during a trip,” the Waymo page said.
The San Mateo Police Department’s Facebook post has garnered nearly 60 comments, with one user accusing Waymo of “snitching.”
“At least they got a designated driver?!” one user commented.
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