Waymo’s robotaxis are coming to three new cities

Waymo said it plans connected launching commercialized robotaxi services successful 3 caller cities: San Diego, Las Vegas, and Detroit. The announcement comes aft the institution said it would statesman rapidly scaling to bring its afloat driverless exertion to much radical connected a faster timeline.

Waymo didn’t accidental precisely erstwhile it plans connected opening up its vehicles to customers successful each 3 cities, but it volition apt beryllium sometime adjacent year. The institution presently operates successful 5 cities: San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. It has besides said it wants to motorboat successful Boston, Seattle, Denver, Miami, New York City, and Washington, DC. (The institution is experiencing section pushback successful some Boston and Seattle.)

Waymo is licensed for autonomous ridehailing successful California, but volition inactive request to get support successful Nevada and Michigan earlier it tin run afloat driverless cars successful a commercialized capacity. Waymo volition request a Transportation Network Company licence successful Michigan, and investigating support from some Nevada’s DMV and the state’s proscription authorization for commercialized operations, Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp said.

“We’ll travel our information model and service riders successful these cities erstwhile we’ve decently validated our exertion and obtained the indispensable permissions, with the intentions to unfastened our doors to riders adjacent year,” Karp added successful an email.

Waymo besides says it volition beryllium adding its caller Zeekr RT vehicles to its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace SUVs erstwhile its acceptable to commence commercialized operations successful the 3 cities announced today. The Zeekr RT, which is made by China’s Geely, volition beryllium equipped with the company’s 6th procreation exertion that Waymo says is much cost efficient.