Waymo, Cruise seek permits to charge for autonomous car rides in San Francisco

Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and rival Cruise have applied for permits needed to start charging for rides and delivery using autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, state documents reviewed by Reuters showed, setting the stage for the biggest tests yet of their technology in a dense urban environment.

Neither company revealed when they intend to launch services. But they detailed contrasting deployment plans, with Waymo starting with “drivered operations” and Cruise expecting to deploy vehicles without humans behind the wheel.

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has yet to decide on the previously unreported applications made by Waymo on Jan. 19 and Cruise on March 29, according to the documents. The agency said it is still reviewing the applications.