Waymo has won a 30-day permit to map roads at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). While the company won’t be allowed to carry public passengers, the permit gives it the opportunity to begin aggregating data to allow its cars to navigate roads in and out of the potentially lucrative airport.
San Francisco Mayor Dan Lurie’s news release said that the permit is valid through April 13, with an option to extend it by 30 days. The permit calls for a human driver to operate the mapping vehicles—with only two vehicles allowed to operate at a time. The occupants must be Waymo employees and airport personnel.
The permit represents a big win for Waymo as Uber UBER 0.00%↑ and Lyft LYFT 0.00%↑ operate thousands of rides to SFO each week. In fact, Waymo was rejected for a permit in 2023.
Not everyone is happy about Waymo mapping at the airport in anticipation of future commercial service. The Teamsters union, with many airport employees as members, has not only advocated that the state of California regulate autonomous vehicles, but has filed an ethics complaint with the San Francisco Ethics Commission last year.
. While the company won’t be allowed to carry public passengers, the permit gives it the opportunity to begin aggregating data to allow its cars to navigate roads in and out of the potentially lucrative airport.){kind=link}