Uber, Google expand Waymo robotaxi service in new city
Google’s Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing service is now up and running for Uber customers in a city renowned for its nightlife options.
Vehicles equipped with the Waymo Driver autonomous driving platform from Waymo, the Google autonomous vehicle subsidiary, are now available for ride-hailing by users of the Uber app in Austin, Texas. The city is known for its bars, restaurants, music venues, and entertainment districts.
The companies first announced plans to bring the Waymo robotaxi service to Austin in September 2024, when it launched in the Phoenix metro area. Uber users in Austin can request an UberX, Uber Green, Comfort, or Comfort Electric ride on the Uber app and opt in for a Waymo fully autonomous all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicle, at no additional cost.
Before a nearby Waymo vehicle is sent, customers have the option to accept or switch to a non-autonomous ride.
Once the Waymo arrives, riders can unlock the vehicle, open the trunk, and start the trip from their Uber app. If assistance is needed at any time, riders will have access to 24/7 customer support, accessible in both the Uber app and inside the Waymo vehicle.
At launch, riders can travel across 37 square miles of Austin – from Hyde Park to downtown to Montopolis, with plans to expand in the future. As previously announced, Uber and Google plan to bring
As also announced in May 2024, the companies intend to bring autonomous Waymo robotaxi service to Atlanta next. Employees are already taking fully autonomous trips with Waymo in the city as the companies prepare to offer Waymo rides to the public there on Uber.
"At Uber, we’re reimagining how the world moves and building a future where autonomous vehicles and drivers work side by side to help make transportation more affordable, sustainable, and accessible for all," Uber said.
Waymo has also been operating in San Francisco for years, scaling its Waymo One robotaxi service over time and carrying out tens of thousands of weekly trips. The company brought the program out of pilot in June 2024, enabling anyone in any part of San Francisco to hail a ride with a self-driving robotaxi provided by Waymo.
[READ MORE: Google pulls ahead of Amazon in robotaxi race]
Amazon competes with Waymo via Zoox
Waymo reached full service to a major city with its robotaxi service before Zoox, a competing autonomous ride hailing technology Amazon purchased in June 2020. Zoox is geographically expanding its successful 2023 pilot of a purpose-built self-driving robotaxi on open public roads in Foster City, Calif. with no manual controls or human safety driver.
Since that initial pilot in Foster City, Calif., Zoox has continued testing and developing its robotaxi technology in Foster City as well as in Las Vegas and San Francisco as it prepares to offer autonomous robotaxi rides to consumers later in 2025.
The company started in its home city of San Francisco in 2017, expanded testing to Las Vegas in 2019, and then moved to Seattle in 2021. Target cities for the first commercial markets for its purpose-built robotaxi remain Las Vegas and San Francisco.
