Waymo receives regulatory approval to expand across Bay Area and Southern California

Waymo continues to expand its reach, with the robo-taxi company announcing Friday that it is “officially cleared for full self-driving in more areas of the Golden State.”

Waymo already has operations in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles (as well as outside California in Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix). But maps published by the California Department of Transportation show that the company can now test and deploy self-driving cars in a much larger area of ​​both the Bay Area and Southern California.

In the Bay Area, Waymo’s approved operating area includes most of the East Bay and North Bay (including Napa/Wine Country), as well as Sacramento. In Southern California, the company’s current license area extends from Santa Clarita (north of Los Angeles) to San Diego.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the company will need additional regulatory approvals to carry paying passengers in some of these areas.

Waymo’s post doesn’t give many details about when it plans to actually start offering rides in all of these new locations, but the company does write that it will “welcome passengers in our next destination: San Diego in mid-2026.”

In addition to San Diego, the company previously announced its intention to launch in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., next year.

There’s been a lot of news about Waymo’s expansion in recent weeks, with Waymo announcing its arrival in Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Tampa. Safety driver will be removed prior to commercial launch in Miami. Launch of ride-hailing service using expressways in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.

On the latest episode of the Equity podcast, we discussed the growth of Waymo and other robotaxi companies. My co-host Sean O’Kane pointed out that once Waymo begins offering freer access across the Bay Area, people may spend more time on robotaxis, leading some to use the service in new, strange, or even dangerous ways.