Waymo expands robotaxi service to four new US cities

Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving company, announced the expansion of its driverless ride-hailing service to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio in Texas, and Orlando in Florida. Invitations are rolling out immediately to select customers in these areas via the Waymo app. This brings the total number of operational metro areas to ten.

Waymo made the announcement on February 24, 2026, continuing its rapid growth in autonomous ride-hailing. The service will initially cover 60 square miles in San Antonio and Orlando, 50 square miles in Dallas, and 25 square miles in Houston, with a focus on downtown regions. Rides are limited to surface streets in these new areas, as freeway capabilities are not yet available there.

The company stated in its blog post: "We will be inviting new riders on a rolling basis to ensure a seamless experience across our initial service areas, as we meaningfully scale our operations ahead of opening our service to everyone later this year." Waymo's vehicles have accumulated over 200 million miles across its operations.

Prior to this expansion, driverless rides were available in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, and Miami, where public rides began in January 2026 following a test phase started in November 2025. Plans for these four cities were also announced in November 2025.

Waymo, owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, is testing its sixth-generation autonomous technology in San Francisco and Los Angeles, currently limited to employees. This technology will integrate into the Ojai vehicle (Zeekr RT) and Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicles, while consumer rides continue to use Jaguar I-Pace models. A public pilot for freeway rides launched in November 2025 in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Looking ahead, Waymo plans further US expansions to Denver, Nashville, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC in 2026, alongside international launches in London and Tokyo.

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Waymo starts robotaxi service at San Francisco International Airport

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Alphabet's Waymo has begun offering fully autonomous rides to San Francisco International Airport, marking the third major airport in its network. The service launches with a select group of riders and pickups limited to the Rental Car Center, with plans for broader access soon. This expansion comes amid scrutiny from a recent incident involving a child pedestrian in Santa Monica.

Waymo launched driverless taxi operations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando on February 24, 2026, bringing its total to 10 cities. The service initially opens to select riders in these areas. Meanwhile, competitor Tesla operates driverless robotaxis in zero cities.

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Waymo has begun offering fully autonomous robotaxi rides to passengers in Miami, marking the latest expansion of its service network. The launch follows testing in the city and adds to operations in places like Phoenix and Los Angeles. Nearly 10,000 residents have already signed up for access.

A Jefferies analysis found Tesla's robotaxis in Austin cheaper than Uber but with longer wait times and suboptimal routes. The firm noted most rides still require safety monitors. Meanwhile, Tesla has made no progress toward driverless approvals in California.

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Tesla has acknowledged in a filing with California's Public Utilities Commission that its robotaxi service requires in-car human drivers and US-based remote operators. The company argues this setup is more reliable than Waymo's fully driverless system, citing a December 2025 San Francisco blackout. Tesla contrasts its approach with Waymo's use of remote workers in the Philippines, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers.

Elon Musk's bold predictions for Tesla's robotaxi service and full self-driving technology largely failed to materialize by the end of 2025. While a limited launch occurred in Austin, safety drivers persisted, and expansion fell far below expectations. Looking ahead, Musk anticipates widespread robotaxi deployment in 2026.

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A power outage struck San Francisco on Saturday, halting Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing operations and leaving vehicles stalled on streets. The disruption affected thousands of residents and clogged traffic, as shown in social media videos. Tesla CEO Elon Musk highlighted that his company's robotaxis operated unaffected.

 

 

 

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