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Waymo will soon make its robotaxis available at San Francisco International Airport. The Google-owned company has secured a testing and operations pilot permit from the city, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced in a press release.
Waymo’s operations at SFO will roll out in three phases. First, it will conduct tests with a human driver behind the wheel. Then it will make its fully-autonomous service available to company employees and designated airport staff before finally rolling it out to paying customers.
Initially, pickups and drop-offs will be limited to SFO’s Kiss & Fly area, a short AirTrain ride away from the terminals, Waymo said in a separate announcement.
Currently, Phoenix’s Sky Harbor is the only airport Waymo serves in the US. Last week, the San José Mineta International Airport (SJC) became the first California airport to green-light Waymo AVs. SFO is now the second. Testing at both these airports will begin soon.
In March, Waymo was granted permission to map the airport roadways at SFO digitally. It can now test its AVs “on designated roads and property,” Lurie said, without naming the specific areas.
The permit has arrived after years of negotiations. Waymo had initially submitted a request at SFO in 2023. However, that got rejected reportedly because airport officials wanted to see how the service performs in areas around the airport before bringing it to their property. Waymo then made a push once again last year.
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Under the agreement it has now signed with SFO, Waymo is required to follow strict safety and reporting conditions while ensuring reliable service for trips to and from the airport.
“At SFO, our priority is making travel safe, sustainable, and reliable,” SFO Director Mike Nakornkhet said in the announcement. “The approval of this permit with Waymo provides passengers with a new and innovative option that delivers the dependability and ease travelers expect when coming through SFO, the gateway to San Francisco.”
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