Waymo has expanded its service area in two populous parts of California. The company's robotaxis have begun operating in new neighborhoods throughout San Francisco and Los Angeles.

(Reuters) -Waymo will expand into more areas of the San Francisco peninsula and parts of Silicon Valley, as the sole commercial robotaxi operator in the U.S. seeks to scale up operations, the Alphabet unit said on Tuesday.

Fresh off a tumultuous week that saw burning Waymo vehicles become a viral image of the Los Angeles protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Google-owned autonomous vehicle company is expanding its three service maps in California.