Waymo Starts Mapping Runs at San Francisco Airport

After two years of back and forth, Waymo has now received permission to map the airport roads in preparation for the expansion of the robot taxi service to the airport grounds.

The airport is owned by the city of San Francisco, which has struggled in recent years with not having a say in the testing and commercial operation of autonomous cars and robotaxi fleets. The licenses for this are issued by the Californian Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the Public Utility Commission (PUC). The city council saw this as a restriction of its own rights and a burden on local residents.

Picking up and dropping off passengers at the airport is one of the most lucrative trips. Waymo already has approval for such trips in Phoenix, Arizona, for example. However, San Francisco has so far put up a fight, especially the Teamsters transportation union. The latter is responsible for the transportation of goods and eyes every competitor with suspicion.

Waymo has now received approval, albeit with the restriction that it may not be used to transport goods to, from or on the airport grounds. Waymo must also share recorded data with the city. The permit was issued on March 14 and is provisionally valid until April 13 and can be extended.

Update: Waymo is also allowed to start driverless testing in San Jose.

This article was also published in German.