Waymo is expanding to other cities: everything you need to know about the growing Robotaxi service

Self -driving cars are slowly becoming less dystopic and real world, since companies like Waymo, the driverless arm of Google Parent Alphabet, are expanding to more cities.

Waymo currently runs completely autonomous trips for the general public in the areas of San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles in the areas of San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles via his Waymo One app. In 2025, however, the company plans to add more locations to its squad and finally open up the drivers in places like Atlanta and Miami. This year Waymo will also be tested with manually driven vehicles in 10 new cities, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego, says The Verge. (Waymo did not answer the request from CNET by comment on this update.)

The autonomous journeys take place on board the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace, but in October Waymo announced that it was working with Hyundai to bring the next generation of its technology in Ioniq 5 SUVs. In the coming years, drivers can use these purely electric vehicles without a driver behind the steering wheel, including with the Waymo One app.

The company self -driving tech is no stranger to in large -scale partnerships. In 2024 it said that it teamed up with Uber to bring his Robotaxi service to Atlanta and Austin via the Uber app. From 2025, the fleet of Waymo’s fleet will manage and send completely autonomous vehicles so that you can choose a trip without a driver if you are working on your trip.

Waymo says that it delivers more than 150,000 trips per week. I celebrated several trips myself in San Francisco, and as repulsive as it can seem first (especially to see a steering wheel application for yourself), I quickly set myself up and it soon felt like an ordinary journey.

This does not mean that there was no setback because Waymo uses more cities. The company’s vehicles were involved in a handful of top -class collisions, including one with a biker in San Francisco and one with a pick -up car in Phoenix. (It reminded and updated its software to tackle the problem.) In response to concerns, loud Waymo that the autonomous Waymo driver technology was up to 3.5 times better to avoid accidents that cause injuries , and to avoid 2x better in avoiding the police -reported accidents than human drivers in SF and Phoenix. “It also published a data center last year in which the efforts to improve traffic safety with the help of its technology were detailed.

Since Waymo further expands and develops its self -driving technology, you will find a guide here, how and where you can summon the Robotaxi if you are in one of the few cities in which the company currently operates its fleet.

Take a look at this: Test from Waymo’s safe exit function in a self -driving taxi

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I ride a trip in Phoenix

Phoenix was the first city to open completely autonomous Waymo trips for the public in 2020. To welcome a trip, you don’t need a waiting list to download the Waymo One app on iOS or Android. The service works 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

As a teaser for what will come in Austin and Atlanta, you can also use the Uber app to summon one of Waymo’s vehicles in Phoenix. If you request a Uberx, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Comfort Electric Ride, you have the choice of confirming a Waymo trip if you agree.

In addition to driving on the trip, you can also have your Uber Eats food delivered by an autonomous car. If you place an order in the Phoenix area, you may receive a note that “autonomous vehicles deliver your order”. When the Waymo car arrives, take your phone with you to open the trunk and snap your delivery. You can unsubscribe this during the cash register if you prefer a person who delivers your food.

I ride a trip in San Francisco

San Francisco followed after Phoenix and carried out completely autonomous trips at the end of 2022. In June she can scrap the waiting list, so that everyone can now simply download the Waymo One app to drive at any time. The service also works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is currently no Uber partnership in San Francisco.

In August, Waymo expanded his hail service to the San Francisco peninsula, added 10 square miles and ventured to Daly City, Broadmoor and Colma. It now works over 55 square miles of the Bay Area.

A trip in Los Angeles raised

In November, Waymo scrapped his waiting list for Los Angeles and began to greet all public drivers via the Waymo One app. Now all interested passengers can jump around the clock in the Robotaxis and over almost 80 square miles from La County, including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Downtown LA, ride and expand into further areas shortly.

Coming soon: Austin and Atlanta

After more than a year of tests in Austin, Waymo opened trips for people on his list of interests in early October. The company says that a “limited number of early drivers” will greet via the Waymo One app before finally switching to Uber -app.

“The drivers will travel over 37 square kilometers of the city, while we are preparing for our commercial start at the beginning of next year – exclusively in the Uber -app,” Waymo published in October on X.

This Uber partnership should make autonomous trips more accessible to more people. In a statement in September, Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said: “Waymos Mission is to be the most trustworthy driver in the world, and we look forward to starting this extended network and operating partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta to start the advantages Bringing fully autonomous driving from the advantages.

As part of the Uber partnership, Uber manages tasks such as the cleaning and repair of vehicles, while “Waymo is still responsible for the tests and operation of the Waymo driver, including the support of the roadside and certain driver -support functions,” said the Company.

In Atlanta, public drivers can take a driverless drive over the Uber app from the beginning of 2025.

Members of the public in Austin and Atlanta can join and notify a list of interests when it is time.

The street ahead: Miami and future vehicles

Miami is also next on the Waymo list, but you have to wait until 2026 to go there via Waymo One app, says the company. It was carried out in the run-up to this roller test and found in a blog post: “Our previous road trips to the demanding rainy conditions of the Sunshine State were invaluable to advance our autonomous driving capacities.”

Waymo is first working together in Phoenix with Moove, a FinTech company that offers vehicle financing, where Moove manages fleet operation, the facilities and the charging infrastructure of the Robotaxi. Both in Phoenix and Miami “Waymo will continue to offer our service via the Waymo One app and remain responsible for the validation and operation of the Waymo driver,” said the company in a blog post.

In August, Waymo presented the sixth generation of his self -driving technology, which aimed to expand the skills of his driverless fleet. More intelligent sensors should help cars to navigate better in extreme weather, said Waymo. The sixth generation driver will come on board the purely electric zeecr vehicle with a flat floor, more head and legroom, adjustable seats and a removable steering wheel and pedals. The updated technology is still being tested, and the company says that it will soon be available to drivers.

In October, Waymo also announced a partnership with Hyundai to integrate his driver of the sixth generation into the fully electric Ioniq 5 SUV, which, according to a blog post, is added during the Waymo One-Fleet. The companies added that they “plan to produce a fleet of Ioniq 5S that have been equipped with Waymo technology for several years to support the growing scale of Waymo One”. Testing with these vehicles will begin at the end of 2025 and will be available “in the following years”.

At the moment, everyday drivers cannot take Waymo vehicle on motorways and highways, but that can change soon. The company tests completely autonomous trips on motorways in Phoenix, as can be seen in an exclusive video with CNET in May.

Waymo is also working on expanding its autonomous driving technology to trucking, but last year it is said that it initially lives back on driving to drive with Waymo One. It stated: “Our persistent investment in the promotion of Waymo driver skills, especially on highways, will lead directly to freight forwarders and benefit its development efforts.”