Waymo is now allowed to carry passengers in its self-driving cars in California

Waymo has received a permit to carry passengers in its self-driving vehicles in California, TechCrunch's Kirsten Korosec first reported.

But the Google spinoff cannot charge for rides, and the vehicles must have a safety driver behind the wheel.

Waymo is the fourth company to receive California's autonomous-vehicle pilot permit, after Zoox, AutoX Technologies, and Pony.ai.

Seen by many experts as the leader in the autonomous-car industry, Waymo launched the first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service in the US, Waymo One, in parts of Arizona in 2018.

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Waymo has received a permit to carry passengers in its self-driving vehicles in California, TechCrunch's Kirsten Korosec first reported on Tuesday.

The permit, which was issued by the California Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday, allows Waymo to carry passengers in autonomous vehicles on California highways, though the Google spinoff cannot charge them for rides, and the vehicles must have a safety driver behind the wheel.

Read more: Waymo CEO John Krafcik explains why a parking lot is one of the most difficult environments for a self-driving car

Waymo is the fourth company to receive California's autonomous-vehicle pilot permit, after Zoox, AutoX Technologies, and Pony.ai. Seen by many experts as the leader in the autonomous-vehicle industry, Waymo launched the first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service in the US, Waymo One, in parts of Arizona in 2018.

“This is the next step on our path to eventually expand and offer more Californians opportunities to access our self-driving technology, just as we have gradually done with Waymo One in Metro Phoenix,” a Waymo representative told Business Insider.

Waymo is also testing autonomous vehicles in Washington, Texas, Michigan, and Georgia.

In a 2019 report, the consulting firm Navigant Research, ranked Waymo first among companies developing self-driving technology in strategy and execution. And according to a report Waymo submitted to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, its safety drivers had to manually take over their test cars, because of safety concerns, about once every 11,000 miles in 2018 — the best rate of any company testing autonomous vehicles on public roads in California.