Waymo’s Self-Driving Service Expands in California, With Eyes on New York. What to Know

Self-driving vehicles are slowly changing into much less sci-fi and extra real-world as firms like Waymo, the driverless arm of Google’s father or mother Alphabet, increase into extra cities. This week, the robotaxi service stretched into extra components of the San Francisco Bay Space and Los Angeles. And beginning subsequent month, Waymo will begin testing its autonomous tech in New York Metropolis. 

Now, Bay Space riders can hail a totally autonomous Waymo trip in Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae and Burlingame through the Waymo One app, and choose riders can entry Mountain View and extra of Palo Alto and Menlo Park. LA riders can use the ride-hailing service in Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake and all of Sundown Boulevard. They will additionally go straight from Mid-Metropolis to Inglewood and Westchester through La Cienega and La Brea, increasing Waymo’s LA County service space to over 120 sq. miles.

On Wednesday, Waymo shared that it is utilized for a allow with the New York Metropolis Division of Transportation to drive autonomously in Manhattan, with a security driver behind the wheel. Within the meantime, the corporate will drive manually within the metropolis, because it did in 2021. Waymo additionally says it is “advocating for a change in state legislation that may permit for working a car with no human behind the wheel,” including, “we now have each intention of bringing our totally autonomous ride-hailing service to town sooner or later.” (Current legal guidelines within the state of New York do not allow the identical totally autonomous ride-hailing service that firms like Waymo provide in different components of the nation.)

Waymo at the moment operates totally autonomous rides for most of the people in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, which occur aboard the all-electric Jaguar I-Tempo. It is increasing its partnership with Uber by launching in Atlanta through the ride-share app later this yr, and plans to start providing rides in Washington, DC, and Miami beginning in 2026. In April, Waymo stated it will start driving its autos on Tokyo’s streets, making this the corporate’s first worldwide location.

Together with these launches, Waymo in January introduced it could additionally start testing with manually pushed autos in 10 new cities this yr, beginning with Las Vegas and San Diego. And in April, Waymo stated it reached a preliminary settlement with Toyota to “discover a collaboration” geared towards creating autonomous driving tech, which might sometime be factored into personally owned autos, too. 

Waymo’s enlargement extends to its manufacturing services, too. In Might, the corporate on Monday stated it is opening a brand new, 239,000-square-foot autonomous car manufacturing unit within the Phoenix space. The plan is so as to add 2,000 extra totally autonomous Jaguar I-Tempo autos to its current 1,500-vehicle fleet. Notably, Waymo indicated it obtained its “remaining supply from Jaguar” earlier this yr, because it plans for future iterations of its driverless rides. Waymo added that the “facility’s versatile design” will permit it to combine its upcoming sixth-generation self-driving know-how into new autos, beginning with the all-electric Zeekr RT. 

In October, Waymo additionally introduced it is partnering with Hyundai to convey the following era of its know-how into Ioniq 5 SUVs. Within the years to return, riders will be capable to summon these all-electric, autonomous autos utilizing the Waymo One app. 

Waymo says it gives greater than 250,000 paid journeys every week. I’ve hailed a number of rides myself in San Francisco and, as off-putting as it may well appear at first (particularly to see a steering wheel flip by itself), I rapidly adjusted, and it quickly felt like an abnormal trip.

That is to not say there hasn’t been pushback as Waymo rolls out to extra cities. The corporate’s autos have been concerned in a handful of high-profile collisions, together with one with a bicyclist in San Francisco and one other with a towed pickup truck in Phoenix. (Waymo recalled and up to date its software program to deal with the problem.) 

Waymo’s Security Impression report notes that over 71 million autonomous miles pushed by March 2025, its Waymo Driver know-how had 88% fewer crashes resulting in critical accidents or worse and 78% fewer injury-causing crashes, in comparison with “a median human driver over the identical distance in our working cities.” It additionally reported considerably fewer crashes with accidents to pedestrians (93%), cyclists (81%) and motorcyclists (86%).

As Waymo continues to increase and develop its self-driving tech, this is how and the place to summon the robotaxi in case you occur to be in one of many few cities the place the corporate at the moment operates its fleet. 

Hailing a trip in Phoenix

Phoenix was the primary metropolis to open up totally autonomous Waymo rides to the general public, in 2020. To hail a trip, obtain the Waymo One app on iOS or Android. The service operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week.

You can too use the Uber app to summon considered one of Waymo’s autos in Phoenix. If you request an UberX, Uber Inexperienced, Uber Consolation or Uber Consolation Electrical trip, you will have the selection to verify a Waymo trip, in case you’re matched. 

Along with hailing a trip, you may additionally have your Uber Eats meal delivered by an autonomous automobile. When inserting an order within the Phoenix space, you may get a notice that “autonomous autos might ship your order.” When the Waymo automobile arrives, take your cellphone with you to pop open the trunk and seize your supply. You’ll be able to decide out of this throughout checkout in case you’d moderately have a human ship your meals.

Hailing a trip within the San Francisco Bay Space

San Francisco adopted go well with after Phoenix, rolling out totally autonomous rides in late 2022. It scrapped the ready checklist in June 2024, so now anybody can obtain the Waymo One app to trip anytime. The service additionally operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week. There’s at the moment no Uber partnership in San Francisco. 

In August 2024, Waymo expanded its ride-hailing service into the San Francisco Peninsula, and expanded once more in March in order that choose Waymo One riders who dwell in Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto and components of Sunnyvale have the choice to hail a robotaxi there, too. In June, it expanded additional into the Peninsula, and its service space now consists of Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Daly Metropolis, Broadmoor and Colma. Choose riders can now additionally entry Mountain View and extra components of Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

In Might, the California Public Utilities Fee authorised Waymo’s utility to function in South Bay and practically all of San Jose, opening up the door to future expansions. 

Hailing a trip in Los Angeles County

In November, Waymo scrapped its waitlist for Los Angeles and commenced welcoming all public riders through the Waymo One app. Now any passengers can hop within the robotaxis 24/7 and trip throughout practically 120 sq. miles of LA County, together with Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Silver Lake, Playa del Rey and Downtown LA. 

Hailing a trip in Austin

In Austin, the one solution to hail a Waymo trip is thru Uber — no Waymo One app right here. By requesting an UberX, Uber Inexperienced, Uber Consolation or Uber Consolation Electrical, you possibly can be matched with a Waymo car — and you will not be upcharged. In the event you’d moderately not take a driverless trip, you will have the choice to change to an ordinary one. However, if you wish to increase your possibilities of being matched to a self-driving automobile, you possibly can go to Account > Settings > Autonomous autos, then hit the toggle subsequent to Get extra Waymo rides.

Unlock the door, pop open the trunk and begin the trip from the Uber app. You will nonetheless be requested to fee your trip on the finish — however you will not be requested to tip.

If there are any points, riders can entry human assist 24/7 through the Uber app and from contained in the Waymo car (there are screens in the back and front that allow you to rapidly summon buyer assist).

As a part of the Uber partnership, Uber will handle duties like car cleansing and restore, whereas “Waymo will proceed to be chargeable for the testing and operation of the Waymo Driver, together with roadside help and sure rider assist capabilities,” the businesses stated. The collaboration ought to make autonomous rides accessible to extra folks, who now will not should obtain a separate app to hitch a trip in a robotaxi.

Waymo at the moment operates throughout 37 sq. miles of town, with plans for future expansions.

Hailing a trip in Atlanta

Like in Austin, Uber will quickly permit riders in Atlanta to hail a Waymo robotaxi. The service is scheduled to launch in the summertime however riders can be a part of a waitlist to extend their possibilities of being matched with a Waymo car as soon as that choice turns into accessible. 

To hitch the Atlanta curiosity checklist, ensure that your Uber app is updated, then go to Account > Settings and discover Autonomous autos below the Trip Preferences menu. Then click on Be part of curiosity checklist.

Riders who be a part of the curiosity checklist might have the possibility to trip with Waymo earlier than the general public launch. They will be notified in-app and through e mail if chosen. 

The service will launch throughout 65 sq. miles of Atlanta, with plans for future expansions, in response to Uber. You will not should pay extra for a Waymo trip than you’ll for the standard UberX, Uber Inexperienced, Uber Consolation or Uber Consolation Electrical trip, and you may see upfront pricing within the app. You’ll be able to unlock the car and begin the journey all from the Uber app, and can be capable to entry human assist 24/7 through the Uber app and from contained in the car.

Coming quickly: Washington, DC, Miami, New York Metropolis and Tokyo

Waymo plans to start out providing rides by its Waymo One app in Washington, DC, in 2026. The corporate returned to the nation’s capital in January to check its autonomous driving tech. In late March, it stated it was bringing extra autos to town and dealing to scale its service all year long. In a weblog submit, Waymo stated it will “proceed to work intently with policymakers to formalize the rules wanted to function with no human behind the wheel within the District.”

You will even have to attend till 2026 to trip a Waymo in Miami. The corporate has been conducting climate testing within the lead-up to that eventual rollout, noting in a weblog submit, “Our earlier highway journeys to the Sunshine State’s difficult wet situations have been invaluable in advancing our autonomous driving capabilities.”

Waymo will collaborate with Moove, a fintech firm that provides car financing, first in Phoenix, the place Moove will handle the robotaxi’s fleet operations, services and charging infrastructure. In Phoenix after which Miami, “Waymo will proceed to supply our service by the Waymo One app, and stay chargeable for validation and operation of the Waymo Driver,” the corporate stated in a weblog submit.

In June, Waymo shared plans to convey its autonomous tech again to New York Metropolis, after having first operated by hand its autos there in 2021. It will as soon as once more begin by driving manually within the Massive Apple, because it waits to listen to about its allow utility with the New York Metropolis Division of Transportation to function autonomously with a human behind the wheel. Waymo will not be but increasing its ride-hailing service to New York Metropolis, however says it plans to take action sooner or later.

Waymo’s enlargement into Tokyo, which was introduced in December, is going on in partnership with Japanese taxi service Nihon Kotsu and taxi app Go. In April, the self-driving firm shared that it is lastly able to hit the highway overseas.

Waymo says educated Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually drive its autos throughout seven Tokyo wards, together with Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa and Kōtō. This can permit engineers to check and adapt Waymo’s autonomous driving tech to native highway options and visitors. 

“In Tokyo, we’re abiding by the identical steadfast rules that information us within the US — dedication to security, dedication to incomes belief in communities the place we function, and collaboration with native officers and neighborhood teams right here in Tokyo,” Nicole Gavel, Waymo’s head of enterprise growth and strategic partnerships, stated in a press release.

It isn’t clear when riders will be capable to hitch a self-driving trip with Waymo in Tokyo.

The highway forward: Future autos

In August, Waymo unveiled the sixth era of its self-driving know-how, which strives to increase the capabilities of its driverless fleet. Smarter sensors are supposed to assist the vehicles higher navigate in excessive climate, Waymo stated. The sixth-gen Driver will come aboard the all-electric Zeekr car, which contains a flat flooring, extra head- and legroom, adjustable seats and a detachable steering wheel and pedals. The up to date tech remains to be being examined however the firm says it will be accessible to riders quickly.

In October, Waymo additionally introduced a partnership with Hyundai to combine its sixth-generation Driver into the all-electric Ioniq 5 SUV, which, in response to a weblog submit, “might be added to the Waymo One fleet over time.” The businesses added that they “plan to supply a fleet of Ioniq 5s geared up with Waymo’s know-how in vital quantity over a number of years to assist Waymo One’s rising scale.” Testing with these autos will begin by late 2025 and develop into accessible “within the years to observe.”

At present, on a regular basis riders cannot take a Waymo car on highways and freeways however that will quickly change. The corporate is testing totally autonomous rides on freeways in Phoenix, as seen in an unique video shared with CNET in Might. It is also now making totally autonomous freeway rides accessible to Waymo workers in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Space.

Waymo is working to increase its autonomous driving tech into trucking as effectively however it stated final yr that it is scaling again these efforts in the intervening time, to deal with ride-hailing with Waymo One. It famous, “Our ongoing funding in advancing Waymo Driver capabilities, particularly on freeways, will straight translate to trucking and profit its growth efforts.”