Waymo was first given the inexperienced gentle to start public robotaxi rides in California in October 2021. | Supply: Waymo
Waymo LLC this week mentioned it has surpassed 100 million absolutely autonomous miles with no 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 absolutely autonomous miles and offering over 1 / 4 million rides per week, it mentioned. It has served greater than 10 million absolutely autonomous journeys so far. Waymo at the moment operates providers in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
“Reaching 100 million absolutely autonomous miles represents years of methodical progress now accelerating into fast, accountable scaling,” mentioned Saswat Panigrahi, Waymo’s chief product officer. “It could take the typical 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 increase to serve extra riders in additional cities, we’ll encounter new challenges that may proceed strengthening our service whereas bringing the advantages of Waymo to extra folks.”
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 house within the U.S. The corporate is planning to launch robotaxi providers 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 automobiles 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 accessible solely by way of the Uber app within the metropolis, making it straightforward 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 automobiles 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.
Thus far, Tesla’s robotaxis are working with a security monitor within the passenger seat. Additionally this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced that the corporate could be increasing its Austin service space.
Legislators purpose to legalize robotaxis in D.C.
Washington, D.C., Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie lately launched laws to permit absolutely autonomous automobiles (AVs) to function on metropolis streets. At the moment, D.C. legislation requires a human operator behind the wheel of the car.
McDuffie’s invoice would remove the driver-in requirement, paving the best way for absolutely autonomous automobiles to serve D.C. riders within the close to future.
In March, Waymo mentioned it deliberate to convey its robotaxis to D.C. in 2026. The corporate mentioned it would work intently with native policymakers to formalize the laws it must function with no human behind the wheel within the District.
Washington will get a mean of 13.7 in. (34.7 cm) of snow a 12 months, in line with the Nationwide Climate Service. This marks the primary time that Waymo is deploying its expertise in a metropolis that often will get snowfall.
Whereas the corporate’s longtime rival Cruise is now not in operation, it nonetheless faces rivals comparable to Zoox and Nuro, that are earlier of their deployment journeys. In 2024, Nuro expanded its capabilities utilizing zero-occupant automobiles with the Nuro Driver system, whereas Zoox grew its operations in California and Nevada.
