For subscribers
In Los Angeles, the robot cars have come for the kids
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ms Veronica Rivera helps her 13-year-old daughter, Alexis Munoz, settle into a robotaxi in Los Angeles on Dec 16, 2025. For most parents that turn to Waymo, the absence of a driver is its shining feature.
PHOTO: MARK ABRAMSON/NYTIMES
Corina Knoll
LOS ANGELES – A light drizzle had begun in south Los Angeles when the sound of a school bell unleashed a stream of students onto the pavement. Clad in grey skirts and purple polo shirts, the uniform at the all-girls public school, students climbed into school buses or scanned the scrum of cars hopefully for a parent arriving on time in the November rain.
Alexis Munoz – a 13-year-old with wavy hair and a smile threaded with braces – ambled away from the scene and up to a busy street. A white Jaguar sport utility vehicle came into view and pulled over, its spinning cameras and sensors hinting at an empty driver’s seat.
