GoKawiilWaymo announced today that any riders can now be passengers in its Ojai model vehicles in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. In a social media post, the company highlighted the spaciousness and backseat entertainment features in the driverless vans. The Google-owned brand began offering limited pickups with this purpose-built robotaxi in the same three cities earlier this year.
This is the second Waymo expansion announced in the past week. Just days ago, the company said it had been granted permission to bring its driverless cars to the roads in Sacramento and San Diego. Ironically enough for the new van model's name, Waymo is not yet available in Ojai, California.
Waymo's other recent headlines have been a little more concerning. After debuting freeway rides as an option for routes in select cities in November, it had to suspend service on highways in May and recalled vehicles after some of its fleet drove into closed construction zones. Waymo only just restored freeway access to its robotaxis in July.