Waymo LLC, the progeny of Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving vehicle project, is entering the Los Angeles market with a campaign offering free rides in certain neighborhoods beginning in Santa Monica on Oct. 11.

Branded the “Waymo One Tour,” a name the company’s marketing team said was inspired by Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Taylor Swift’s Eras tours this summer, it will operate within neighborhood boundaries starting in West Los Angeles. 

Unlike the traditional market-entry model, Waymo’s “tour” approach aims to entice the city’s tech-savvy populace with the free price tag, a first step towards carving a niche in a market long dominated by traditional ride-hailing services. 

The Los Angeles coverage area, although smaller compared to Waymo’s recently expanded robotaxi service in Phoenix, includes unprecedented traffic levels for the company’s autonomous vehicles.

According to the transportation analytics company Inrix Inc., Los Angeles ranks higher than Waymo’s previous launch sites (San Francisco and Phoenix) for traffic congestion, meaning the fleet’s sensors will be put to the test for the urban landscape’s road risks.

“We wanted to be able to drive in all different types of cities and all different types of conditions,” said Vishnay Nihalani, Waymo’s product management director. “(We’re) servicing a wide variety of users, from commuters to people going out.”

Nihalani said the company had “healthy” dialogue with local municipalities to allow its service to operate throughout the city. Its autonomous vehicles have tour dates in Santa Monica, Century City and Koreatown, and will deploy downtown in January. 

According to its marketing team, the Los Angeles tour acts a teaser for what could be a permanent fleet expansion here. 

This initiative follows a series of significant developments for Waymo. In August, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to allow the company to operate in a manner similar to Uber Technologies Inc. or Lyft Inc., marking a significant milestone for a company that had yet to prove its commercial viability. The approval allows for 24/7 operations in California cities, and Waymo’s robotaxi service now charges customers in San Francisco and Phoenix.