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Alphabet subsidiary Waymo is expanding its service area in San Francisco despite protests against robotaxis<\/a>, while rival Cruise grapples with crashes<\/a> and other incidents<\/a>.<\/p>\n Waymo riders can now access the service across the vast majority of SF, Waymo announced on Monday on social media site X. The company had limited rides in many of the city\u2019s northeastern neighborhoods \u2014 including Fisherman\u2019s Wharf, Embarcadero and Chinatown \u2014 to a couple thousand users. As of Monday, that figure expands to tens of thousands of riders, a person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n Waymo\u2019s services are still limited to folks who\u2019ve made it through the company\u2019s waitlist. Waymo\u2019s SF service area still excludes Treasure Island, one of the city\u2019s most diverse neighborhoods<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back in June, northeastern SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin called robotaxis unsafe<\/a> and \u201c#NotReadyForPrimeTime\u201d in a tweet. The supervisor\u2019s office did not immediately respond to TechCrunch\u2019s requests for comment on Waymo\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n The expansion, which Waymo hyped in a promo clip<\/a>, comes just a few months after a big win for robotaxis in California. In August, the state\u2019s Public Utilities Commission cleared the way for Waymo and General Motors-backed Cruise to offer commercial services in SF 24 hours a day, seven days a week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Soon after the contentious decision, the city of SF asked for a do-over<\/a>, and California\u2019s DMV ordered Cruise to cut its fleet in half over \u201crecent concerning incidents<\/a>.\u201d Waymo operates roughly 250 AVs in SF, or about 22% more than Cruise maintains in the city.<\/p>\n Just a week ago, a Cruise AV ran over a pedestrian<\/a> after a human-driven car struck them near Union Square.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n