Here are how many people took robotaxi rides
Waymo experienced a surge in activity with its driverless robotaxis after the company opened its ride-hailing service to the public in San Francisco earlier this year. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle
The number of passengers using Waymo’s driverless ride-hailing service more than doubled in California during the three month period after the company opened up paid rides to the public.
The Alphabet-backed company carried just under 500,000 passengers throughout the state during August, compared to just over 200,000 passengers in May. The increase was the biggest month-over-month jump in Waymo’s robotaxi service since it began commercial operations in California last fall.
The surge in users comes as the company has continued to expand into new California markets including offering public rides in Los Angeles in November, and the Peninsula in August. Waymo is, for the time being, the only company licensed by the state to offer paid driverless rides to the public.
A Waymo spokesperson said it was difficult to attribute the uptick to one cause, but confirmed ridership has been increasing as the company expands in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
The company, which is headquartered in Mountain View, said it expects ridership to increase steadily as it adds more vehicles and territories to the service.
More passengers also meant more trips. Waymo completed just over 143,000 rides in May, but that number more than doubled by August when the company completed 312,000 paid rides across the state.
Waymo said it has more than 300 cars serving riders in San Francisco, and more than 100 offering rides in Los Angeles.
That fleet allowed Waymo to break the 1-million mile mark for the first time in June, clocking over 1.4 million miles travelled in July and more than 1.8 million miles covered in August.
More rides and passengers also resulted in more collisions. The company reported being in 55 collisions, up from 27, the prior quarter and 13 collisions the quarter before that. It also reported to the DMV two instances of alleged injuries involving cyclists and its vehicles, both in San Francisco.