March 13 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Waymo said on

Wednesday it will begin offering free driverless robotaxi

services to select members of the public in Los Angeles starting

Thursday.

The company received approval from the California Public

Utilities Commission (CPUC) earlier this month to start its

ride-hailing program, Waymo One, in Los Angeles and some cities

near San Francisco.

Waymo's latest plans put it ahead of its General Motors ( GM )

-owned rival Cruise, which is currently facing scrutiny

after a driverless Cruise car dragged a pedestrian 20 feet after

an accident.

The company said services will be available across 63 square

miles from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles, adding that the

initial rides will be free.

"We'll permanently welcome riders into our service,

gradually onboarding the more than 50,000 people on our LA

waitlist and continuing to hand out temporary codes at local

events throughout the city," Waymo said in a blog post.

The company further added that it will expand its operations

in Los Angeles over time and transition to paid services in the

coming weeks.

Waymo started autonomous services for its employees in

Austin, Texas, making it the fourth autonomous ride-hailing city

after San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

It plans to offer Waymo One to the broader public in Austin

later in the year.