Why Waymo’s Accelerating Progress Deserves More Attention

Riders exit a Waymo self-driving car in front of Google's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images.

Martin Peers

And now for some good news. Self-driving cars, after more than a decade of overhyped chatter, are actually getting somewhere.

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, on Tuesday extended its robotaxi service to everyone in San Francisco, four years after it made a similar move in Phoenix. Also on Tuesday, Uber Freight and Aurora announced that Uber Freight will use Aurora-powered self-driving trucks, expected to begin service on the Dallas-Houston route at the end of this year.