KQED's Forum Waymos – Both Popular and Polarizing – Expand to San Jose and Bay Area Highways
Nov 13, 2025
Raya Jetta, a tech culture reporter specialized in robo-taxis, joins forces with Billy Riggs, a professor focusing on autonomous vehicle policy, and Jackie Fielder, a San Francisco Supervisor advocating for community control. They delve into Waymo's expansion into San Jose and the mixed community reactions. They discuss the implications of local vs. state regulation, the potential impacts on labor markets, and the ongoing competition in the autonomous vehicle space. The conversation highlights broader questions about safety, privacy, and the future of urban mobility.
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Major Waymo Expansion To Highways And San Jose
- Waymo's freeway and San Jose expansion turns the Bay Area into a unified 260+ square mile robo-taxi zone.
- Freeway service will roll out gradually to opted-in riders before broader availability.
Decades Of Testing Built Waymo's Edge
- Waymo accumulated decades of testing and tens of millions of miles to reach high autonomy reliability.
- That long runway and patient capital underpin its safety claims compared with human drivers.
Supervisor Fielder's Local Control Push
- Supervisor Jackie Fielder pushed a resolution for county-level votes on allowing autonomous vehicles.
- She cited concerns about congestion, public-transit displacement, and unchecked data collection by companies.