Waymo says it will launch in more Texas and Florida cities in 2026
A Waymo autonomous self-driving Jaguar taxi drives along a street on March 14, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Waymo said Tuesday it will bring its robotaxi service to new cities in Texas and Florida in 2026.
AlphabetThe company-owned company said it plans to operate its vehicles without human driver assistants in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami and Orlando in the coming weeks before opening service to the public in those markets next year. blog.
“Waymo has entered a new phase of commercial scale by doubling the number of cities we operate without a human expert in the car,” Waymo Chief Product Officer Saswat Panigrahi said in an emailed statement Tuesday. he said.
Waymo had previously announced plans to launch its robotaxi service in Dallas and Miami in 2026, but on Tuesday the company announced for the first time that it plans to launch the service in other cities next year. Waymo will first offer fully autonomous rides to its employees in those markets, a spokesperson said.
The company is preparing to expand its paid robotaxi service in 2026. The company had previously announced plans to expand to Detroit, Las Vegas, Nashville, San Diego, Washington, DC and London in 2026.
Waymo has also begun testing vehicles in New York City and Tokyo.
Last week, Waymo began offering highway routes in the San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles markets. Google’s sister company will gradually expand highway trips to more drivers and locations over time.
Waymo currently operates its paid robotaxi service in Austin, San Francisco, Phoenix, Atlanta and Los Angeles. The company said in May that it has provided more than 10 million paid rides since its initial launch in 2020.
Waymo’s Florida and Texas expansion announcement comes on the same day AmazonOwned by Zoox, it has begun allowing select San Francisco users to use its driverless cars. San Francisco is the second market where Zoox now offers free service, following its launch in Las Vegas in September. Zoox is building a fleet of 50 robotaxis between San Francisco and Las Vegas, the company told CNBC in September.
WRISTWATCH: Waymo launches paid robotaxi rides on highways
