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Waymo was first given the inexperienced gentle to start public robotaxi rides in California in October 2021. | Source: Waymo
Waymo LLC this week mentioned it has surpassed 100 million absolutely 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 absolutely autonomous miles and offering over 1 / 4 million rides per week, it mentioned. It has served greater than 10 million absolutely autonomous journeys to this point. Waymo at present operates companies in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin.
“Reaching 100 million fully autonomous miles represents years of methodical progress now accelerating into rapid, responsible scaling,” mentioned Saswat Panigrahi, Waymo’s chief product officer. “It would take the average human driver more than 7,000 years to drive that much!”
“We’ve doubled our mileage in just six months while launching in new cities like Atlanta, and [are] finding further evidence that the Waymo Driver is improving road safety,” he asserted. “As we expand to serve more riders in more cities, we’ll encounter new challenges that will continue strengthening our service while bringing the benefits of Waymo to more people.”
Waymo, which was named the Robot of the Year within the 2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards, has emerged as a transparent chief within the robotaxi area within the U.S. The firm 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 automobiles to map Boston.
Waymo expands service space to maintain up with competitors in Austin
Waymo’s expanded Austin service space. | Source: 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 the Uber app within the metropolis, making it simple to hail, it mentioned.
While 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 Model Y automobiles outfitted with the corporate‘s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) software program. It is providing rides solely to a choose group of buyers and influencers.
So far, Tesla’s robotaxis are working with a security monitor within the passenger seat. Also 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 not too long ago launched laws to permit absolutely autonomous automobiles (AVs) to function on metropolis streets. Currently, D.C. legislation requires a human operator behind the wheel of the car.
McDuffie’s invoice would eradicate 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 carry its robotaxis to D.C. in 2026. The firm mentioned it is going to work intently with native policymakers to formalize the laws it must function with out a 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 National Weather Service. This marks the primary time that Waymo is deploying its know-how in a metropolis that usually will get snowfall.
While the corporate’s longtime rival Cruise is not in operation, it nonetheless faces rivals akin 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.