New Delhi, Aug. 16 -- Someone in Sacramento who can't drive, or prefers not to, gained a new option on Friday afternoon.

covering suburban areas that had been outside its operating boundary even though the company had run vehicles nearby for years.

The approval is the broadest single regulatory authorization Waymo has received in California in its eleven-year commercial history.

The company announced no launch dates for either city. The expansion into Sacramento and San Diego would be "gradual and guided by our safety framework," Waymo said - the kind of language that signals a phased entry contingent on internal readiness rather than a commercial launch with a fixed date. The CPUC grants permission to operate in California; when Waymo...