Waymo was first given the inexperienced mild to start public robotaxi rides in California in October 2021. | Supply: Waymo
Waymo LLC this week mentioned it has surpassed 100 million totally autonomous miles with out a human driver behind the wheel. The Alphabet Inc. subsidiary mentioned it has doubled its mileage in simply six months whereas increasing to new cities like Atlanta.
The firm is now driving greater than 2 million totally autonomous miles and offering over 1 / 4 million rides per week, it mentioned. It has served greater than 10 million totally autonomous journeys to this point. Waymo at the moment operates companies in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
“Reaching 100 million totally autonomous miles represents years of methodical progress now accelerating into speedy, accountable scaling,” mentioned Saswat Panigrahi, Waymo’s chief product officer. “It might take the common human driver greater than 7,000 years to drive that a lot!”
“We’ve doubled our mileage in simply six months whereas launching in new cities like Atlanta, and [are] discovering additional proof that the Waymo Driver is bettering highway security,” he asserted. “As we broaden to serve extra riders in additional cities, we’ll encounter new challenges that can proceed strengthening our service whereas bringing the advantages of Waymo to extra individuals.”
Waymo, which was named the Robotic of the Yr within the 2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards, has emerged as a transparent chief within the robotaxi area within the U.S. The corporate is planning to launch robotaxi companies in Miami, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo within the coming years. Earlier this 12 months, it introduced plans to ship a small fleet of autos to map Boston.
Waymo expands service space to maintain up with competitors in Austin
Waymo’s expanded Austin service space. | Supply: Waymo
Waymo has elevated its service space in Austin from 37 sq. mi. (95.8 sq. km) to 90 sq. mi. (233 sq. km). The service is on the market completely by way of the Uber app within the metropolis, making it simple to hail, it mentioned.
Whereas Waymo has established itself as a frontrunner in robotaxi operations within the U.S., it nonetheless has competitors. In June, Tesla formally launched its robotaxi service in Austin.
That service is utilizing a small fleet of Tesla Mannequin Y autos geared up with the corporate‘s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) software program. It’s providing rides solely to a choose group of buyers and influencers.
To date, Tesla’s robotaxis are working with a security monitor within the passenger seat. Additionally this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced that the corporate can be increasing its Austin service space.
Legislators purpose to legalize robotaxis in D.C.
Washington, D.C., Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie not too long ago launched laws to permit totally autonomous autos (AVs) to function on metropolis streets. Presently, D.C. regulation requires a human operator behind the wheel of the car.
McDuffie’s invoice would get rid of the driver-in requirement, paving the way in which for totally autonomous autos to serve D.C. riders within the close to future.
In March, Waymo mentioned it deliberate to carry its robotaxis to D.C. in 2026. The corporate mentioned it’ll work carefully with native policymakers to formalize the rules it must function with out a human behind the wheel within the District.
Washington will get a median of 13.7 in. (34.7 cm) of snow a 12 months, in keeping with the Nationwide Climate Service. This marks the primary time that Waymo is deploying its expertise in a metropolis that recurrently will get snowfall.
Whereas the corporate’s longtime rival Cruise is now not in operation, it nonetheless faces opponents comparable to Zoox and Nuro, that are earlier of their deployment journeys. In 2024, Nuro expanded its capabilities utilizing zero-occupant autos with the Nuro Driver system, whereas Zoox grew its operations in California and Nevada.
