Waymo expands driverless ride service into South Bay – NBC Los Angeles

Waymo expands driverless ride service into South Bay  NBC Los Angeles

South Bay riders will soon have another option for getting around as Waymo expands its driverless ride-hailing service down the coast to Torrance. Waymo’s updated map shows its coverage area extending through Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach into Torrance. This video was broadcast during the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. The company said the Los Angeles expansion is part of a rollout adding nearly 250 square miles of coverage across five markets over the next week. Waymo's updated map shows the service area extending through Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach to Torrance. The company has not said how many square miles are being added in Los Angeles.

Waymo began in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, initially testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. In 2016, Google's parent company, Alphabet, established Waymo as an independent self-driving technology company. Waymo launched its commercial ride-hailing service, Waymo One, in the Phoenix area in 2018. The service initially used a small fleet of minivans. The company later opened rides to the general public without a human driver in the front seat. Los Angeles became Waymo's next ride-hailing market in 2022. The company began offering rides to people on its waitlist in March 2024 and opened the service to all Los Angeles riders in November of that year. Waymo's