Autonomous ride-share company Waymo is planning on rolling out its driverless vehicles next year in San Diego, joining other cities with the service such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix.
"We roll autonomously like our burritos — California style," a blog post from the company read. "Waymo is excited to bring San Diego riders the same safe, reliable, and magical autonomous ride-hailing service that carries hundreds of thousands of people already in five cities across the U.S., with plans to begin serving the city next year."
Along with San Diego, the company plans to expand to Las Vegas and Detroit.
The service is similar to Uber or Lyft, but without drivers. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.
"By welcoming innovative and promising technologies like Waymo's autonomous vehicle service, we're exploring how to make transportation more accessible, more sustainable, and more connected for everyone in our community," said Mayor Todd Gloria.
But the company is not without controversy.
On Oct. 27, a Waymo vehicle struck and killed a beloved neighborhood cat, "KitKat" in San Francisco.
"While our vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers, a nearby cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away," a company spokesperson said.
The death of the Mission District feline, nicknamed "The Mayor of 16th Street," prompted Bay Area politicians to take action.
Jackie Fielder, a San Francisco city supervisor, said she plans to introduce legislation that would allow counties to decide whether they will permit the operation of autonomous vehicles, and is calling upon the California legislature to consider doing the same, The Guardian reports. Fielder said the bill will be similar to a 2024 effort in the California legislature.
"We are absolutely coming for your bottom dollar," Fielder said of the company.
Two weeks ago, in Los Angeles, members of a large crowd of around 1,000 people leaving Thrasher Magazine's "Halloween Hell Bomb" skater event attacked and damaged a Waymo vehicle.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged at a tech summit in September that in 10 or 15 years, more autonomous taxis would be on the road than those with drivers, leaving concerns about lost jobs.
