Self -driving cars are slow Less dystopian and real world How companies like WaymoThe driverless arm from Google Parent Alphabet is expanding in more cities.
Waymo currently operates completely autonomous trips for the general public in the areas of San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles 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. Waymo will also be tested with manually driven vehicles 10 new cities This year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego, according to Verge. (Waymo did not answer the request from CNET by comment on this update.)
The autonomous journeys take place on board the All Electricity Jaguar I-PaceBut Waymo announced in October Partnership with Hyundai The next generation of your technology in the 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 was said it was unite With Uber to bring your 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 it delivers more than 150,000 trips every 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 another with a towed pickup in Phoenix. (It Callback and updated his software To tackle the problem.) In response to concerns, Waymo was that autonomous waymo driver technology was up to 3.5 times better over 14.8 million miles to avoid accidents that cause injuries, and 2x better when avoiding Avoid SF and Phoenix by crashs as a human driver in the crashes reported by the police. “It also published a Data hub Last year, detailed efforts to improve road safety with the help of its technology.
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
I ride a trip in Phoenix
Phoenix was that First city To open the fully autonomous Waymo trips for the public in 2020. To greet a trip, download it to download it Waymo one App on iOS or Android – no waiting list required. The service works 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As a teaser for what will come in Austin and Atlanta, you can too 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 a rideYou can also have yours About eating food that is 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, who rolled out Fully autonomous trips in late 2022. It The waiting list scraped In June 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 In the San Francisco peninsula, 10 square miles and in Daly City, Broadmoor and Colma. It now works over 55 square miles of the Bay Area.
A trip in Los Angeles raised
Waymo scrapped his waiting list for Los Angeles in November and started Welcome all public drivers About the Waymo One app. Now all interested passengers can jump around the clock in the robotaxis and almost run over 80 square miles from La County, including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Downtown La – with plans to soon expand into further areas.
Coming soon: Austin and Atlanta
After more than a year of Test In Austin, Waymo opened trips for people on his list of interests in early October. The company says that there will be a “limited number of early drivers” about the Waymo one App, before finally switching to the 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”, Waymoo ” Posted on X in October.
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 you Interest list And if they are notified when it is time to drive.
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 Carry out water tests In the run -up to this rollerout, which is determined in one Blog post“Our former road trips in the demanding rainy conditions of the Sunshine State were invaluable to promote 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 one Blog post.
Waymo revealed that in August Sixth generation His self -driving technology, which aims 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 all electrics Zeekr vehicleWith 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 “The Waymo One-Fleet is added over time”. 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 journeys Cars in PhoenixAs can be seen in one Exclusive video shared with CNET in May.
Waymo is also working on expanding its autonomous driving technology to trucking, but it is said last year that it is Smade these efforts Primarily to concentrate on driving 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.”
