Waymo says anyone in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa can now download its app and hail a ride in one of its driverless cars, taxis that drive themselves with no one at the wheel. Until Oct. 14, riders in those cities needed an invite code from Waymo, which opened service there earlier this year. Now that no code is needed, anyone inside the area Waymo serves can ride, not only people who signed up and were sent a code.
In San Antonio, the change also covers rides at San Antonio International Airport. According to a news report, Waymo's San Antonio area runs from King William to Wurzbach Parkway, including downtown and the River Walk, and some riders there are starting to be picked up in Ojai, Waymo's newest car model. Waymo says it covers nearly 50 square miles of Tampa, according to another news report, and according to a third, San Diego rides are limited to 10 neighborhoods, among them Downtown, Hillcrest, North Park and Ocean Beach.
Waymo says it has carried hundreds of thousands of riders in the three cities since it opened service there earlier this year. The company published praise from local groups and officials, including Scott Young, board chair of Lighthouse for the Blind & Low Vision in Florida, who said many of the group's clients can no longer drive: "With Waymo, they get their independence back."
Waymo did not give prices, wait times or the number of cars it runs in each city. It is not yet clear whether Waymo has enough cars in each city to keep waits short now that anyone can ride, or when its service will reach more of each city.