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BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daity Post Staff Writer
Waymo is now offering 24/7 autonomous rides in Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View, the company announced yesterday, while it’s initial rollout has already ruffled some feathers.
Palo Alto resident Linda MacKenzie, who lives in the Los Arboles neighborhood, said Waymo has parked cars at the intersection of Ames Avenue and Cork Oak Way every night for the past two months — “constantly on and waiting.”
One neighbor reported a Waymo car started up and almost hit her while she was walking her dog in the morning, MacKenzie said in an email to Palo Alto City Council on Sunday.
“Neighborhood streets are maintained for the public good, not to support a private business,” MacKenzie said. “They make a noise. Their cameras are recording everything that is nearby. These vehicles are a distraction and a public nuisance to all.”
MacKenzie suggested Waymo ask the many churches on Middlefield Road to use their parking lots.
State approval
Self-driving cars are regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission and the DMV, not by local cities.
Last March, the state gave Waymo the green light to run from Daly City to Sunnyvale.
In November, Waymo started operating in Palo Alto and Mountain View but only for its employees and their guests.
Waymo is a part of Google, based in Mountain View.
“Opening our fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Silicon Valley marks a special milestone in our Bay Area journey. This is where Waymo began and where we’re headquartered.
Now we’re bringing seamless rides, safer streets, and sustainable transportation to our local community,” Chief Product Officer Saswat Panigrahi said in a statement yesterday.
Brandi Jothimani, senior services program director for the nonprofit Community Services Agency, said case workers will use Waymo to visit seniors who are too frail to come in.
“Having a safe option for senior transportation is a huge benefit to the local community,” she said.
Fleet size
Company spokesman Ethan Teicher wouldn’t say how many cars are in Waymo’s local fleet yesterday.
“Our fleet of vehicles will be kept at a local facility, and will grow over time as we add more riders and expand the service area,” he said in an email.
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