Waymo lobbyists had a busy 2024.
A latest assessment of lobbyist disclosure knowledge by the San Francisco Examiner revealed Waymo paid lobbyists to fulfill with San Francisco authorities officers 348 instances final yr, greater than double the 137 instances it reported in 2023.
The pop in lobbyist exercise is in sync with Waymo’s growth in San Francisco — and its ambitions for the bigger Bay Area. Waymo has had a presence within the San Francisco space since 2009, but it surely wasn’t till August 2023 that the corporate was in a position to cost prospects — 24 hours a day and all through the town — for rides in its fleet of self-driving Jaguar I-Pace autos.Â
Since then, Waymo has expanded its footprint and the variety of prospects it serves. Waymo dumped its waitlist final June for its San Francisco robotaxi service, eradicating the ultimate impediment for patrons eager to make use of the self-driving expertise. Last yr, the corporate expanded its protection space by one other 10 sq. miles to incorporate Bay Area cities and started testing driverless autos on SF freeways.
Waymo additionally needs to have the ability to decide up and drop off prospects on the San Francisco Airport, as TechCrunch reported final July; lobbyist disclosure knowledge individually exhibits an uptick in visits with airport authority officers.
