Should Waymo be allowed at SFO? Robotaxi company one step closer to airport service amid expansion

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Two major announcements came from Waymo Monday as the self-driving rideshare company has expanded its service to the South Bay.

The company first announced San Francisco is giving it permission to map roadways around SFO, one step toward driverless rides to and from the airport.

The second announcement was that the California DMV also granted Waymo approval to operate its vehicles in the South Bay, including most of San Jose.

Those rides will not be open to the public yet, but come after Waymo just announced expansion to parts of Silicon Valley.

MORE: Waymo's driverless car service expanding to parts of Silicon Valley

While Waymo itself is happy with the double dose of good news, others, like Evelyn Engel are more skeptical.

Engel is a part of the SF Taxi Alliance and worries more autonomous vehicles could lead to more unemployed people.

"Maybe starting with Uber and Lyft drivers and then maybe taxi drivers. Perhaps even shuttle bus drivers. Perhaps even MUNI bus drivers," Engel said.

South Bay State Senator Dave Cortese says he's not against the robotaxis but is advocating for local officials to have more say over where they drive.

"When you see those Waymo ads that say the robots are here, they're not kidding," Cortese said. "They're in charge right now. Your city mayor is not in charge of those robotaxis right now."

MORE: Waymo exec. joins livestream, apologizes to SF residents for robotaxi honking mess

Many people are excited about Waymo's expanding footprint too.

At SFO, ABC7 News spoke to several travelers and most of them were excited about the company's announcements.

That includes San Francisco resident Makenna Growney and her parents, who said they'd happily book a Waymo to the airport if that option becomes available in the future.

"I think it also depends on how big they make the cars," Growney said. "Because right now, they're all sort of the same size and not that large so it depends on how many suitcases you have."

Others like Todd Auker say they don't love Waymo in general. But Auker says the choice would come down to pricing.

"I was just looking at the Uber rates to get home and they're outrageous," he said. "So more options, more competition, I think better service for the community."

Waymo's permit to map SFO roadways began Friday and will last for 30 days.