Waymo, the self-driving tech development unit of Google's parent company Alphabet, is launching its robotaxi services in Santa Monica in Los Angeles, California, later this month.

The rides will be offered to the public for free and will be conducted without a safety driver on board. The service will be available till November.

Analyst QuickTake: When looking at Waymo’s operations in California, the company already operates a commercial robotaxi service in San Francisco, but was only allowed to operate with a safety driver on board to take control of the vehicle if needed. The company also received permission to commercially launch fully autonomous rides in San Francisco in August 2023 ; the company is now on its path to commercializing robotaxi services in its second city in California. Waymo began offering driverless rides to employees in Santa Monica in February 2023 after obtaining permission from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to extend driverless testing to Los Angeles in November 2022.