Waymo Opens Ojai Driverless Van Access to All Riders in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles

It’s a full rollout for the driverless vans in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Riders across Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco can now request trips in Waymo’s Ojai model vehicles, opening the driverless vans to all passengers. In a social media post, the Google-owned brand emphasized the interior cabin spaciousness and backseat entertainment features of the autonomous fleet. The company initially introduced limited passenger rides with the purpose-built robotaxi across the same three cities earlier this year.

The transition to custom passenger vans highlights an industry shift toward purpose-built autonomous hardware. By moving away from retrofitted consumer vehicles like luxury SUVs, self-driving operators aim to optimize interior comfort, improve accessibility, and scale commercial ride-hailing fleets more efficiently.

The service availability marks the second Waymo expansion announced over the past week. Days earlier, the operator confirmed it received regulatory clearance to test and deploy driverless cars on roadways in Sacramento and San Diego. In a notable geographic quirk, Waymo is not yet available in Ojai, California, despite the driverless van carrying the town’s name.

Recent coverage surrounding the autonomous operator has also highlighted operational challenges. After launching freeway rides as a routing option in select cities in November, the company suspended highway travel in May and issued a safety recall after several fleet vehicles navigated into closed construction zones. The company’s restoration of freeway access for its robotaxis was completed only recently in July, resolving the service pause caused by those roadway incidents.