New D.C. Council bill would allow Waymo to begin robotaxi service
The big picture: The legislation, from Council member Kenyan McDuffie, comes as Waymo continues testing more than a dozen cars in D.C.
Waymo operates its robotaxi service in LA, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin, with D.C. and Miami being eyed next.
In its advocacy to get the bill passed in D.C., the company touts that it offers 250,000 fully driverless rides per week in those cities.
How it works: The cars being tested in Washington have a specialist behind the wheel, per D.C. regulations.
If the bill passes, the next step will be testing with no one inside, before opening the service to the public for rides.
Between the lines: The legislation could also invite other autonomous-vehicle companies, like Tesla, into the D.C. market, the Washington Business Journal notes.
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