(Reuters) -Alphabet’s Waymo began operating fully autonomous vehicles in Miami on Tuesday, kicking off the expansion of its ride-hailing service to more U.S. cities as it races to cement its lead in self-driving technology.
The company said it would roll out operations for its employees in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando in the coming weeks, ahead of a public launch for riders in 2026.
Waymo, spun out of Google’s self-driving project in 2016, is the only operator offering paid robotaxi rides in the U.S. without safety drivers or in-vehicle monitors. Its fleet exceeds 1,500 vehicles.
Waymo’s expansion underscores the accelerating race to commercialize fully autonomous vehicles, with leading players focusing on safety, technology refinement and regulatory cooperation to win market share.
Rivals including Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox are investing heavily in autonomous technology.
Robotaxi firms have faced scrutiny following series of incidents, but operators are betting that broader deployments and improved safety data might help ease operations.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last month the electric carmaker aims to introduce its robotaxi service in eight to 10 U.S. metro areas by year-end, subject to regulatory approval, and expects to remove human safety monitors in “large parts of Austin” within the same timeframe.
(Reporting by Kritika Lamba and Arnav Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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