Self-driving cars are slowly becoming less sci-fi and more real-world as companies like Waymo, the autonomous arm of Google’s parent, Alphabet, expand into more areas. On Thursday, Waymo said it’s beginning fully autonomous operations with its latest, sixth-generation self-driving technology, which is built to handle extreme winter weather while scaling back costs. 

The sixth-generation Waymo Driver builds on the company’s current autonomous technology by further tapping into AI advancements, Waymo said in a blog post. For instance, the updated vision system can find details in deep shadows or while being hit with high beams, and requires fewer cameras, thanks to higher-resolution image sensors. Waymo’s lidar sensors have gotten better at painting a 3D picture of the car’s surroundings in various weather conditions, and the company’s latest radar sensors use new algorithms to better track the distance, velocity and size of objects in rain or snow. 

These capabilities can come in handy as Waymo expands to more cities with a variety of climates, such as Minneapolis, Detroit and London. The sixth-generation Waymo Driver will first be deployed on the Ojai, a modified Zeekr vehicle, before making its way to the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Fully autonomous trips using the sixth-generation driver will kick off with employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles before eventually opening up to the public.

Waymo currently offers fully autonomous rides to the general public in the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas. The vehicles can be summoned either via the Waymo app or Uber, depending on the city. In November, Waymo began driving passengers on freeways in San Francisco, Phoenix and LA. And in January, it opened up to its first public riders in Miami as it gradually expands access.

The self-driving company has added several new cities to its roster in recent months. In an Aug. 29 blog post, Waymo noted it’s “entering a new chapter and accelerating our commercial expansion.” You can find a full list of where Waymo currently operates and plans to expand below.

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Waymo expands and grows

Waymo’s growth extends to its manufacturing facilities. In May, the company said it’s opening a new, 239,000-square-foot autonomous vehicle factory in the Phoenix area. The plan is to add 2,000 more fully autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles to its existing 1,500-vehicle fleet. Notably, Waymo indicated it received its “final delivery from Jaguar” earlier this year, as it plans for future iterations of its driverless rides. 

Waymo added that the “facility’s flexible design” will allow it to integrate its upcoming sixth-generation self-driving technology into new vehicles, starting with the all-electric Zeekr RT, which Waymo has dubbed Ojai. In February 2026, Waymo said it was beginning fully autonomous operations with the sixth-generation driver aboard the Ojai, starting with employees before eventually expanding to more passengers.

In October 2024, Waymo also announced it’s partnering with Hyundai to bring the next generation of its technology into Ioniq 5 SUVs. In the years to come, riders will be able to summon those all-electric, autonomous vehicles using the Waymo app. Testing with these vehicles began in 2025 and they’ll become available “in the years to follow.” 

And in April 2025, Waymo said it reached a preliminary agreement with Toyota to “explore a collaboration” geared toward developing autonomous driving tech, which could someday be factored into personally owned vehicles. 

Waymo is working to expand its autonomous driving tech into trucking as well, but it said in 2023 that it’s scaling back those efforts for the time being, to focus on ride-hailing with Waymo One. It noted, “Our ongoing investment in advancing Waymo Driver capabilities, especially on freeways, will directly translate to trucking and benefit its development efforts.”

Waymo safety and pushback 

The self-driving company says it’s driven nearly 200 million miles on public roads, and completes over 400,000 fully autonomous rides each week in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta and Miami. I’ve hailed several rides myself in San Francisco, and as off-putting as it can seem at first (especially to see a steering wheel turn by itself), I quickly adjusted, and it soon felt like an ordinary ride.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been pushback as Waymo rolls out to more cities. The company’s vehicles have been involved in a handful of high-profile collisions, including one with a bicyclist in San Francisco and another with a towed pickup truck in Phoenix. (Waymo recalled and updated its software to address the issue.) Its vehicles have also struggled to navigate construction zones, driven onto the path of an oncoming train and blocked traffic during a power outage in San Francisco. In January, a Waymo robotaxi hit a young pedestrian near a school in Santa Monica, California. 

Waymo’s Safety Impact report notes that over the course of 71 million autonomous miles driven through March 2025, its Waymo Driver technology had 88% fewer crashes leading to serious injuries or worse and 78% fewer injury-causing crashes, compared with “an average human driver over the same distance in our operating cities.” It also reported significantly fewer crashes with injuries to pedestrians (93%), cyclists (81%) and motorcyclists (86%).

How to hail a Waymo ride 

As Waymo continues to expand and develop its self-driving tech, here’s how and where to summon a robotaxi if you’re in one of the few cities where the company currently operates its fleet. 

Watch this: Testing Waymo’s Safe Exit Feature in a Self-Driving Taxi

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Phoenix

Phoenix was the first city to open up fully autonomous Waymo rides to the public in 2020. To hail a ride, download the Waymo app on iOS or Android. The service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can also use the Uber app to summon one of Waymo’s vehicles in Phoenix. When you request an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric ride, you’ll have the choice to confirm a Waymo ride if you’re matched. 

In addition to hailing a ride, you may also have your Uber Eats meal delivered by an autonomous car. When placing an order in the Phoenix area, you might get a note that “autonomous vehicles may deliver your order.” When the Waymo car arrives, take your phone with you to pop open the trunk and grab your delivery. You can opt out of this during checkout if you’d rather have a human deliver your food.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport became the first major airport to offer fully autonomous Waymo rides to its terminals. Waymo said in September 2025 that it had “served hundreds of thousands of trips to/from Sky Harbor, and it remains the single most popular Waymo destination in Phoenix.”

Waymo added freeway access for passengers in Phoenix in November.

San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco followed suit after Phoenix, rolling out fully autonomous rides in late 2022. It scrapped the waiting list in June 2024, so now anyone can download the Waymo app to ride anytime. The service also operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There’s currently no Uber partnership in San Francisco. 

In November, Waymo expanded its service area to more than 260 square miles across the San Francisco Bay Area and added freeway access for passengers. Riders can now hail a driverless ride to San Jose Mineta International Airport as well as San Francisco International Airport.

Los Angeles County

In November 2024, Waymo scrapped its waitlist for Los Angeles and began welcoming all public riders via the Waymo app. Now any interested passengers can hop in the robotaxis 24/7 and ride across nearly 120 square miles of LA County, including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Silver Lake, Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park and Downtown LA, and along all of Sunset Boulevard. 

There’s currently no Uber partnership in Los Angeles.

In November, Waymo began rolling out freeway access to LA riders.

Austin

Riders can hail a Waymo across 90 square miles of Austin, including neighborhoods like Crestview, Windsor Park and Franklin Park and locations like The Domain and McKinney Falls State Park. There are more than 100 Waymo vehicles in the city, with plans for further expansion. 

In Austin, the only way to hail a Waymo ride is through Uber — no Waymo app here. By requesting an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric, you could be matched with a Waymo vehicle — and you won’t be upcharged. If you’d rather not take a driverless ride, you can switch to a standard one. On the other hand, if you want to boost your chances of being matched to a self-driving car, you can go to Account > Settings > Autonomous vehicles, then hit the toggle next to Get more Waymo rides.

Unlock the door, pop open the trunk and start the ride from the Uber app. You’ll still be asked to rate your ride at the end, but you won’t be asked to tip.

If there are any issues, riders can access human support 24/7 via the Uber app and from inside the Waymo vehicle (there are screens in the front and back that let you quickly summon customer support).

As part of the Uber partnership, Uber will manage tasks like vehicle cleaning and repair, while “Waymo will continue to be responsible for the testing and operation of the Waymo Driver, including roadside assistance and certain rider support functions,” the companies said. The collaboration should make autonomous rides accessible to more people, so they won’t have to download a separate app to ride a robotaxi.

Atlanta

Waymo operates across 65 square miles of Atlanta, with plans for future expansions. As in Austin, you can only climb aboard a Waymo robotaxi via the Uber app. When you book a ride through UberX, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric, you might be paired with a Waymo vehicle at no additional cost. You’ll have the option to accept or decline the driverless ride each time. 

You can unlock the vehicle, pop the trunk, and start the trip all from the Uber app, and you can access human support 24/7 via the app and touchscreens inside the vehicle.

If you want to boost your chances of being paired with a Waymo vehicle, you can opt in by going to the Uber app, tapping Account > Settings > Autonomous vehicles (under Ride Preferences), and then hitting the toggle next to Get more Waymo rides.

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Upcoming expansions

Sacramento 

Adding to the list of Californian cities in which it operates, Waymo said in February that it’s heading to Sacramento. The company will start by manually driving its Jaguar I-Pace vehicles around the city to better understand its layout, before scaling to autonomous driving. 

It’s not clear when riders will be able to hail a ride in Sacramento. Waymo says it has the necessary DMV permit to operate autonomously in the city, but it hasn’t yet obtained a commercial deployment permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, which is required for driverless operations. 

Boston

Waymo is bringing its vehicles to Boston, but there’s no clear timeline yet for when rides will be available to the public there. In a blog post, Waymo said it’s working with officials to get Massachusetts to legalize fully autonomous vehicles. 

Baltimore

In December, Waymo said it was beginning manual driving in Baltimore. It’ll gradually work toward autonomous rides. 

St. Louis

Waymo also launched manual driving operations in St. Louis in December, as it builds toward autonomous driving.

New Orleans

In November, Waymo said it would begin manual driving in New Orleans as it builds toward a robotaxi service there. It’s not clear when exactly the public will be able to ride in the city; it could be in 2026, depending on when the company validates its technology. Waymo is using its fifth-generation driving technology “as we lay the groundwork for our services,” the company said, with the option to add future vehicles equipped with its newer sixth-generation tech as it expands.

Minneapolis

Like New Orleans, Waymo began manual driving in Minneapolis in November. Once the company has validated its tech there, riders will be able to climb aboard.

Las Vegas

In January, Waymo said it would begin testing with manually driven vehicles in 10 new cities, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego. And in November, it announced that its robotaxi service will officially expand to those cities in 2026. 

As part of the rollout, the company is deploying both its Jaguar I-Pace fleet, which already operates in a handful of other cities, and the newer Zeeker RT vehicles equipped with Waymo’s latest, sixth-generation self-driving technology.

“We’ve regularly visited Las Vegas over the years and found the Waymo Driver easily adapts to the city,” Waymo said in a blog post. “While Las Vegas is unique, its driving dynamics are familiar-similar to cities where we already operate. This familiarity positions us well to help serve Las Vegas’s 40-plus million annual visitors.”

Waymo said it plans to make its ride-hailing service available in Vegas in the summer of 2026. It began autonomous testing with a driver behind the wheel just before this year’s CES.

San Diego

San Diego is one of many cities Waymo is expanding to in its home state of California.

“As we work to expand our deployment permits, we’re partnering with local teams, training first responders, and deepening community relationships so we can best serve the community and its visitors when we open our doors,” the company said in a blog post. 

It’ll deploy both its Jaguar I-Pace fleet and the newer Zeeker RT vehicles equipped with Waymo’s latest self-driving technology.

Waymo says it plans to open up its autonomous service in San Diego in 2026.

Detroit

Unlike many of the other cities Waymo is expanding to, Detroit presents the challenge of harsh winter weather. Similar to Las Vegas and San Diego, Waymo will deploy both its current Jaguar I-Pace fleet and Zeeker RT vehicles equipped with its latest autonomous technology. 

In a blog post, Waymo said it has “regularly tested in Detroit during winter weather to develop our capabilities in snow and ice. We’ve made great strides in our efforts to operate in heavier snow – including testing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – and look forward to the 6th-generation Waymo Driver navigating Detroit streets this winter.”

London

In mid-October, Waymo said its vehicles are headed to London, making the city its first European location. It’ll start driving on the city’s roads with humans behind the wheel “while we lay the groundwork for fully autonomous operations,” the company said in a statement. “We will scale up based on guidelines established by the UK Department for Transport and Transport for London, and work closely with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions to offer fully autonomous rides in 2026.” 

London is Waymo’s second international city, after it announced in 2024 that it’s expanding to Tokyo, though passengers can’t hail a ride there just yet either. 

Nashville

Waymo is partnering with Lyft to expand to Nashville. Waymo began driving in the city autonomously in February, as it prepares to open to the public later this year. Riders will be able to hail vehicles through the Waymo app, and will eventually have the option to be matched with a robotaxi in the Lyft app, too. 

As part of the collaboration, Lyft will manage the robotaxi fleet, which includes vehicle maintenance and cleaning, while Waymo will be responsible for the self-driving technology. 

Denver

Waymo arrived in Denver in the fall “to lay the groundwork for a fully autonomous service in the future,” the company said in an early September 2025 blog post. It’ll deploy a mixed fleet consisting of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles with its fifth-generation Waymo Driver as well as Zeekr RT vehicles with the sixth-generation Waymo Driver. That newer technology “is informed by years of winter weather experience across Michigan, upstate New York, and the Sierra Nevada and engineered to autonomously sustain operations in harsher climates,” Waymo said.

Seattle

In early September, Waymo shared that it’s heading to the Seattle metropolitan area, noting in a blog post that it “spent years getting to know the area — from communities around the Lake to its notoriously wet weather.” It’s not yet clear when exactly that service will launch.

Dallas, Houston and San Antonio

Waymo is currently conducting early testing in Dallas, with plans to launch public rides via the Waymo app next year. The company is teaming up with Avis Budget Group, which will manage the fleet, including vehicle cleaning and maintenance. 

“Our partnership with Waymo marks a pivotal milestone in our evolution, from a rental car company to a leading provider of fleet management, infrastructure and operations to the broader mobility ecosystem,” Avis Budget Group CEO Brian Choi said in a statement. “Together, we’re committed to making scaled autonomous mobility a reality for the people of Dallas, with plans to expand to additional cities in the near future.”

Waymo is also planning to launch in Houston and San Antonio next year. In November, Waymo said it would begin rolling out fully autonomous rides in the three Texas cities for employees, before launching for the public in 2026.

In January, Waymo shared it was beginning employee testing at Dallas Love Field Airport and San Antonio International Airport.

New York City

In June, Waymo shared plans to bring its autonomous tech back to New York, after having first manually operated its vehicles there in 2021. It once again began driving manually in the Big Apple in early July, specifically in Manhattan and parts of downtown Brooklyn, as well as in nearby Jersey City and Hoboken. Waymo submitted a permit application with the New York City Department of Transportation to operate autonomously with a human behind the wheel, which was granted in late August.  

As part of the New York City permit, Waymo can test up to eight autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn until September. After that, it can apply for an extension to the pilot testing period. 

Existing laws in the state of New York don’t permit the same fully autonomous ride-hailing service that companies like Waymo offer in other parts of the country, so Waymo is still unable to charge for rides. In June, Waymo said it was “advocating for a change in state law that would allow for operating a vehicle with no human behind the wheel,” adding, “we have every intention of bringing our fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the city in the future.” 

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

Waymo said in July that it’s bringing a limited fleet of its vehicles to “the most complex parts” of Philadelphia,”including downtown and freeways.” And in December, the company said it’s now operating autonomously with a trained human specialist behind the wheel. 

It’s also kicking off manual driving in Pittsburgh before eventually building up to autonomous driving. 

Washington, DC

Waymo plans to start offering rides through its Waymo app in Washington, DC, in 2026. The company returned to the nation’s capital in January last year to test its autonomous driving tech. In late March, it said it was bringing more vehicles to the city and working to scale its service throughout the year. In a blog post, Waymo said it’ll “continue to work closely with policymakers to formalize the regulations needed to operate without a human behind the wheel in the District.”

Miami, Orlando and Tampa

In January, Waymo began offering fully autonomous rides to the public in Miami. “With nearly 10,000 residents already signed up, we will be inviting new riders on a rolling basis to ensure a seamless experience across our initial 60-square-mile service area,” the company said in a blog post. The initial service area includes the Design District and Wynwood, as well as Brickell and Coral Gables. Waymo plans to expand to Miami International Airport “soon.”

The company conducted weather testing in the lead-up to Miami’s rollout, noting in a blog post, “Our previous road trips to the Sunshine State’s challenging rainy conditions have been invaluable in advancing our autonomous driving capabilities.”

Waymo is collaborating with Moove, a fintech company that offers vehicle financing, first in Phoenix, where Moove will manage the robotaxi’s fleet operations, facilities and charging infrastructure. In Phoenix and then Miami, “Waymo will continue to offer our service through the Waymo app, and remain responsible for validation and operation of the Waymo Driver,” the company said in a blog post.

Waymo is also rolling out driverless rides in Orlando for employees as it prepares to launch its service there this year.

Waymo is also starting manual driving in Tampa, though it’s not clear when people will be able to hail a robotaxi ride there. It could be in 2026, if the company has validated its self-driving tech in the city.

Tokyo

In December 2024, Waymo announced it’s expanding to Tokyo, making it the company’s first international location. Waymo is partnering with Japanese taxi service Nihon Kotsu and taxi app Go. 

Waymo says trained Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually drive its vehicles across seven Tokyo wards, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa and Kōtō. This will allow engineers to test and adapt Waymo’s autonomous driving tech to local road features and traffic. 

“In Tokyo, we are abiding by the same steadfast principles that guide us in the US — commitment to safety, dedication to earning trust in communities where we operate, and collaboration with local officials and community groups here in Tokyo,” Nicole Gavel, Waymo’s head of business development and strategic partnerships, said in a statement.

It’s not clear when riders will be able to hitch a self-driving ride with Waymo in Tokyo.