Simi Valley Faces the Driverless Future — with Caution, Curiosity, and Questions
(CLAIR | Simi Valley, CA) — Something new is coming to Simi Valley’s streets and it won’t have a driver.
In November 2025, the California Department of Motor Vehicles approved an expansion of Waymo’s autonomous vehicle permit, officially adding parts of Ventura County — including Simi Valley — to the areas where its self-driving cars can legally operate.
Waymo, owned by Alphabet Inc., is already running driverless ride-hailing services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Now, for the first time, Ventura County is included in that growing network.
The approval means Waymo can test and deploy its all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles here without a human behind the wheel. But it does not mean the cars are on local roads yet. The company has not announced when, or if, it will begin public service in Simi Valley.
From Silicon Valley to Simi Valley
Waymo began as Google’s self-driving car project in 2009 and became a standalone company under Alphabet in 2016. Its goal is simple but ambitious: to make transportation safer, cleaner, and more accessible through automation.
In cities where it already operates, Waymo’s cars navigate using radar, lidar, and high-resolution mapping — collecting data in real time to avoid collisions and respond to changing road conditions.
The company reports that its autonomous fleet has driven tens of millions of miles on public roads, often with lower crash rates than human drivers. Independent research supports those findings, though the technology is still under federal review.
Safety Meets Skepticism
National surveys show that most Americans remain uneasy about sharing the road with self-driving cars. The hesitation comes from a mix of curiosity and concern.
While Waymo’s safety data is strong, the wider autonomous vehicle industry has faced challenges. Federal regulators continue to monitor incidents involving other companies’ vehicles in California, Arizona, and Texas. Some have stopped unexpectedly or misread complex traffic signals, fueling public doubt about how the technology behaves outside of ideal conditions.
That’s why many transportation experts say public trust will grow only through visibility and communication. People want to see what happens on their own streets — not just read about it elsewhere.
Simi Valley’s Careful Watch
City officials have not yet announced any partnership with Waymo or timeline for deployment. For now, the approval signals possibility, not presence. It gives Simi Valley a seat at the table in California’s fast-moving conversation about the future of mobility.
If and when the vehicles arrive, the city will face new questions: how they’ll interact with pedestrians and emergency vehicles, what data they collect, and how to balance innovation with accountability.
The DMV’s decision puts Simi Valley on the map for one of the most advanced technologies in transportation. It connects the city to a broader shift happening across the state — one that could eventually change how people move, commute, and connect.
