Waymo will wait a little longer to hear whether California regulators approve the self-driving tech company’s ambitious expansion request.
The state’s Public Utilities Commission has postponed its decision on whether to approve Waymo’s application, according to the agency. It now has until June 19 to make a decision.
Waymo seeks to offer its commercial, driverless robotaxi service in unprecedented scope across California. With approval, the Google subsidiary would expand beyond its current San Francisco home to most of the San Francisco peninsula and throughout Los Angeles.
CPUC staff had until Tuesday to decide whether they’d approve, deny or delay their decision.
In the case of the latter, a procedural “order of suspension” allows that decision to be pushed for as long as 120 extra days, according to a commission spokesperson.
Waymo’s robotaxi service in San Francisco remains ongoing and is unaffected by its pending application.
Previous applications by Waymo and competitor Cruise have faced similar postponements and ultimately been approved. But this one comes amid increasing safety scrutiny and hostility toward self-driving cars.
In October, a Cruise robotaxi struck a pedestrian who had been first hit by a human-driven car in San Francisco. The pedestrian was dragged by the robotaxi and suffered “multiple traumatic injuries,” according to first responders. Subsequently, the California Department of Motor Vehicles and CPUC suspended the driverless permits the company needed to operate.
A Waymo vehicle struck a bicyclist in San Francisco on Feb. 6. The cyclist suffered minor scratches, but the incident has prompted an ongoing regulatory review. On Feb. 10, a San Francisco crowd set ablaze a Waymo self-driving vehicle during festivities marking the Chinese new year.
Dozens of organizations have written letters to CPUC officials in support of Waymo’s expansion. But five have protested such plans, including the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and San Francisco County Transportation Authority.