Waymo driverless pickups could arrive soon

Waymo’s driverless Jaguar I-Pace vehicles could eventually start picking up passengers in Cupertino, but the company still has to move through the same California regulatory structure that governs its broader Bay Area expansion. California records show Waymo won approval in May 2025 for an updated passenger safety plan tied to a larger deployment area, and Cupertino was one of the cities added in that filing. (cpuc.ca.gov) The documents do not set a public launch date for Cupertino. They do show that Waymo has state authorization to expand operations in a wider Peninsula territory and to adjust service gradually within that approved area. (cpuc.ca.gov) ### Did California already clear Waymo to operate in Cupertino? The California Department of Motor Vehicles approved a broader Waymo deployment area on March 17, 2025, according to a CPUC attachment describing the company’s operational design domain. (cpuc.ca.gov) That filing says Waymo’s deployment area was expanded to additional portions of the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula, with the CPUC later approving the related passenger safety plan on May 19, 2025. Cupertino appears in the underlying safety-plan update. A CPUC summary of Waymo Advice Letter 0003 says the 2025 update added eight jurisdictions, including Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Pacifica, San Jose and Saratoga. (cpuc.ca.gov) ### Does that mean anyone in Cupertino can hail a Waymo now? The CPUC documents authorize service within an approved territory, but they do not require Waymo to open every city at once. The agency’s autonomous vehicle program says companies in the driverless deployment program may provide pre-arranged transportation without a driver and may charge fares, provided they also maintain the required DMV permits and passenger safety plans. (webproda.cpuc.ca.gov) Waymo’s own materials describe expansion as phased. In earlier service rollouts, the company said it would add riders incrementally, and its current operating-domain filing says it may “dynamically adjust” operating parameters, including geographic areas, for some or all vehicles at various times. That means a city can be inside the approved map before broad public pickups begin there. (cpuc.ca.gov) ### What approvals matter most before public pickups start? The DMV controls whether Waymo’s autonomous vehicles may operate on public roads, while the CPUC regulates passenger service offered to the public. The CPUC says applicants to the driverless deployment program must obtain a DMV deployment permit and submit a passenger safety plan that outlines how they will protect riders. Waymo’s March 26, 2025 advice letter was the key Cupertino-related filing in this case. (cpuc.ca.gov) The company asked the CPUC to approve an updated passenger safety plan in connection with its expanded DMV-approved territory, and the CPUC approved that request effective May 19, 2025. No protests were filed, according to the disposition letter, and the agency received 23 supportive responses. (waymo.com) ### What could slow or shape a Cupertino launch? Waymo’s state filings leave room for operational limits even inside an approved territory. The company’s operating-domain statement says its vehicles are designed for all roadway types, all speed limits, and all times of day and night, but Waymo may still restrict service dynamically around certain road features, times of day or weather conditions. (cpuc.ca.gov) Local curb and traffic questions have also followed robotaxi expansion elsewhere. In past California proceedings over Waymo and Cruise expansions, transit and city agencies raised concerns about street interference, emergency response and traffic flow, according to CPUC records from other service areas. Those filings were not specific to Cupertino, but they show the kinds of issues regulators and local officials have monitored as robotaxi service expands. (cpuc.ca.gov) ### How broad is Waymo’s Bay Area push right now? Waymo said on May 13, 2026 that it was expanding across the San Francisco Bay Area as part of a broader growth push that would take its service footprint to more than 1,400 square miles across 11 cities over the following weeks. The company did not, in that short update, list Cupertino-specific launch timing. California DMV records show Waymo’s approved testing and deployment footprint has expanded repeatedly since 2018, including Bay Area and Los Angeles growth in 2024 and a Peninsula expansion in March 2025, followed by a larger Northern and Southern California expansion in November 2025. (webproda.cpuc.ca.gov) Cupertino’s path to public pickups sits inside that wider buildout rather than in a stand-alone city filing. (docs.cpuc.ca.gov) ### So what should residents watch next? The clearest next marker is a public service update from Waymo or a new state filing showing how the company is activating service inside its approved Peninsula territory. The current CPUC disposition letter, effective May 19, 2025, confirms the safety-plan approval, and the operating-domain attachment ties that approval to the DMV’s March 17, 2025 expansion. Until Waymo announces rider access in Cupertino, those state records remain the most concrete guide to what is authorized and what still appears to be pending. (waymo.com) (cpuc.ca.gov) (dmv.ca.gov)