Jane Han is the North America editor for The Korea Times. Based in Seattle, she has covered business, culture and social issues across the United States for over 15 years. She previously worked at The Boston Globe.
Driverless taxis routine in Los Angeles as Korea tests robotaxis
A Waymo driverless taxi waits at a curb in downtown Los Angeles. / Korea Times photo by Jane Han
By Jane Han
LOS ANGELES — The steering wheel began to turn on its own.
Sitting in the back seat of a white Jaguar I-PACE operated by Waymo, there was no one in the driver’s seat as the car eased away from the curb and merged into traffic.
For a first-time rider, the moment can feel unusual. Within minutes, however, the experience began to feel routine. In parts of Los Angeles, driverless taxis have already blended into everyday traffic.
Waymo opened its autonomous ride-hailing service to the public in Los Angeles in November 2024, making the city one of a handful of U.S. cities where passengers can ride in fully driverless taxis.
South Korea is also preparing to expand autonomous vehicle services, with Seoul planning to introduce Level-4 robotaxis later this year as part of a broader push to develop artificial intelligence-based transportation.
Leading up to that moment, however, can prompt many questions. Without a driver, how exactly does the pickup work? Would the car stop in the right place? And how would it know which passenger to pick up?
In a typical ride-hailing pickup, there is usually a brief interaction with the driver — a wave to signal you are the passenger, a glance through the window to confirm the ride or a quick exchange about where to stop. Without a person behind the wheel, how will these small moments play out?
When the car finally pulled up to the curb, the process turned out to be surprisingly simple. The Waymo app displayed a button labeled “unlock” and tapping it opened the car doors.
Inside, a screen displayed the passenger’s name and welcomed the rider before prompting the trip to begin. After fastening the seatbelt and tapping the display screen, the car eased forward into traffic.
At first, it was hard not to keep glancing at the empty driver’s seat. The steering wheel moved gently on its own as the vehicle navigated turns and lanes through downtown streets. Within a few minutes, however, the ride began to feel surprisingly routine.
The cabin is clean and quiet. Instead of engaging in a conversation with a driver, soft music played as the car moved through city traffic. The interior also felt unusually clean, closer to a new car than to a typical taxi or ride-hailing vehicle where passengers sometimes encounter leftover trash or lingering smell from previous rides.
The absence of a driver also removes some of the small uncertainties that can come with ride-hailing trips. There is no awkward small talk, no debate about the route and no unexpected music chosen by someone else.
Outside the vehicle, the scene felt largely ordinary. Other drivers passed without slowing down and pedestrians crossed the street without paying much attention. The driverless cars, once a novelty, now appear to have blended into the flow of Los Angeles traffic.
While the empty driver’s seat drew occasional glances, a few minutes into the ride made it feel like any other trip across the city, except no one is sitting behind the wheel.