Insider Brief
- Waymo has launched public access to its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando, bringing its total commercial markets to 10.
- The company said initial access will be invitation-based through the Waymo app, with broader availability expected later this year as it scales operations.
- Waymo reported more than 200 million fully autonomous miles driven and said it is on track to exceed one million paid rides per week by year-end.
California-based robotaxi company Waymo has opened its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to public riders in four additional U.S. cities — Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando — bringing its total commercial markets to 10, according to the company.
The expansion marks the first time Waymo has launched public service in multiple cities simultaneously and deepens its presence in Texas and Florida. Select riders who have downloaded the Waymo app will begin receiving invitations immediately, with broader access rolling out in phases ahead of a full public opening later this year, Waymo said.
“Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando are critical to our plans, as we lay groundwork for service in 20+ cities,” co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in the announcement. “Each community has its own unique charm and transportation needs, and we’re eager to provide a safe, reliable, and magical way for locals and visitors to travel.”
Waymo said it is on track to surpass one million paid rides per week by year-end as it scales operations toward service in more than 20 cities. The company operates fully autonomous vehicles without human safety drivers and says it remains the only provider running a commercial, driverless ride-hailing network across multiple complex urban markets at scale.
The company also said its vehicles have logged more than 200 million fully autonomous miles. Citing internal safety data from over 127 million miles, Waymo reported significant reductions in serious-injury and pedestrian-injury crashes compared with human drivers.
Waymo said it has worked with city officials and community organizations in each market ahead of launch and plans to follow a phased market-entry approach centered on safety and operational scaling. Riders in the newly added cities will be able to request trips to major commercial and entertainment districts through the Waymo app.
Waymo and other driver-less vehicle companiies have faced increased scrutiny after crashes and in January, the National Transportation Safety Board said it opened an investigation into Waymo after its robotaxis illegally passed stopped school buses in Austin, Texas, at least 19 times since the start of the school year. The announcement followed a December recall of more than 3,000 Waymo vehicles to update software tied to the issue and a separate probe launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in October.
Earlier this month, the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee held a hearing on self-driving cars as lawmakers weighed whether federal action was needed to replace the fragmented state-by-state regulatory framework. Chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz, the session featured executives from Tesla and Waymo, along with industry and legal experts, as policymakers debated national safety standards amid competition with China and concerns that inconsistent state rules were slowing autonomous vehicle deployment.
Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña testified that based on peer-reviewed methodology and retrospective analysis submitted to federal regulators, its autonomous driving system was involved in significantly fewer serious crashes than human drivers operating under comparable conditions. Peña said its vehicles experienced 10 times fewer serious injury or worse crashes, 12 times fewer pedestrian injury crashes, and five times fewer airbag-deployment and overall injury crashes across the same mileage and road types.
