(KRON) -- It looks like Peninsula residents looking forward to getting in a Waymo vehicle will have to wait a bit longer. In the Bay Area, Waymo currently only operates in San Francisco.
Last month, the Mountain View-based autonomous vehicle company announced plans to expand to other Bay Area cities outside of San Francisco. Waymo submitted an application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for review.
The CPUC said this month it has suspended its review of Waymo's application to operate in San Mateo County and parts of Santa Clara County. State officials added they needed more time for "further review."
The delay will push back Waymo's expansion efforts by at least four months. CPUC will review Waymo's application no earlier than June 19.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) did approve Waymo's request for expansion, according to a letter sent on Jan. 11 from the DMV to Waymo. However, Waymo cannot move forward with expansion until it receives approval from the CPUC.
Experts say the delay in expansion approval does not come as a surprise.
Waymo, along with other autonomous vehicle companies like Cruise, has had incidents that may have caused the public to lose trust in AVs.
Earlier this month, a driverless Waymo car collided with a cyclist in San Francisco. In April 2023, a Waymo vehicle in the city blocked a fire truck's path.
Here is a map of the proposed expansion in the Bay Area and Southern California.
“Since Waymo has stalled any meaningful discussions on its expansion plans into Silicon Valley, the CPUC has put the brakes on its application to test robotaxi service virtually unfettered both in San Mateo and Los Angeles counties,” San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Vice President David J. Canepa said in a statement. “This will provide the opportunity to fully engage the autonomous vehicle maker on our very real public safety concerns that have caused all kinds of dangerous situations for firefighters and police in neighboring San Francisco.”
KRON4's Catherine Heenan contributed to this report.