Self-driving cars are slowly becoming less dystopian and more real-world as companies like Waymo — the driverless arm of Google parent company Alphabet — expand into more cities. And on Tuesday, the company launched its partnership with Uber in Austin, Texas, so users can hail a robotaxi right from the rideshare app. Users can now take a driverless ride across 37 square miles of the city, with plans for future expansions.
Waymo currently operates fully autonomous rides for the general public in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles via the Waymo One app. In Phoenix, passengers can also summon a ride through the Uber app.
Waymo and Uber plan to expand their partnership again in Atlanta later this year. Waymo will also be testing with manually driven vehicles in 10 new cities this year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego.
The autonomous rides take place aboard the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace, but in October, Waymo 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 One app.
Waymo says it provides more than 200,000 trips each week across San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles. 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 biker in San Francisco, and another with a towed pickup truck in Phoenix. (It recalled and updated its software to address the issue.) In response to concerns, Waymo says that across 14.8 million miles, its autonomous Waymo Driver technology “was up to 3.5x better in avoiding crashes that cause injuries and 2x better in avoiding police-reported crashes than human drivers in SF and Phoenix.” It also released a data hub last year, detailing efforts to improve road safety using its technology.
As Waymo continues to expand and develop its self-driving tech, here’s a guide to how and where to summon the robotaxi if you happen to be 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
Hailing a ride in 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 One app on iOS or Android — no waiting list needed. The service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As a teaser for what’s to come in Austin and Atlanta, 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.
Hailing a ride in San Francisco
San Francisco followed suit after Phoenix, rolling out fully autonomous rides in late 2022. It scrapped the waiting list in June, so now anyone can simply download the Waymo One 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 August, Waymo expanded its ride-hailing service into the San Francisco Peninsula, adding 10 square miles and venturing into Daly City, Broadmoor and Colma. It now operates across 55 square miles of the Bay Area.
Hailing a ride in Los Angeles
In November, Waymo scrapped its waitlist for Los Angeles and began welcoming all public riders via the Waymo One app. Now any interested passengers can hop in the robotaxis 24/7 and ride across nearly 90 square miles of LA county, including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Inglewood and Downtown LA — with plans to expand into more areas soon.
Hailing a ride in Austin
In Austin, the only way to hail a Waymo ride is through Uber — no Waymo One 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’ll have the option to 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 both 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, who now won’t have to download a separate app to hitch a ride in a robotaxi.
Coming soon: Atlanta
In Atlanta, public riders can catch a driverless ride via the Uber app starting in early 2025. Waymo employees are currently the only people in Atlanta who can hail the fully autonomous vehicles.
Members of the public in Atlanta can join an interest list and be notified when it’s time to ride.
The road ahead: Miami and future vehicles
Miami is also next on Waymo’s list, but you’ll have to wait until 2026 to ride there via the Waymo One app, the company says. It’s been conducting weather testing in the lead-up to this 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 will collaborate 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 both Phoenix and then Miami, “Waymo will continue to offer our service through the Waymo One app, and remain responsible for validation and operation of the Waymo Driver,” the company said in a blog post.
In August, Waymo unveiled the sixth generation of its self-driving technology, which aims to expand the capabilities of its driverless fleet. Smarter sensors are meant to help the cars better navigate in extreme weather, Waymo said. The sixth-gen Driver will come aboard the all-electric Zeekr vehicle, which features a flat floor, more head- and legroom, adjustable seats and a removable steering wheel and pedals. The updated tech is still being tested, and the company says it’ll be available to riders soon.
In October, Waymo also announced a partnership with Hyundai to integrate its sixth-generation Driver into the all-electric Ioniq 5 SUV, which, according to a blog post, “will be added to the Waymo One fleet over time.” The companies added that they “plan to produce a fleet of Ioniq 5s equipped with Waymo’s technology in significant volume over multiple years to support Waymo One’s growing scale.” Testing with these vehicles will start by late 2025 and become available “in the years to follow.”
Currently, everyday riders can’t take a Waymo vehicle on highways and freeways, but that may soon change. The company is testing fully autonomous rides on freeways in Phoenix, as seen in an exclusive video shared with CNET in May. It’s also now making fully autonomous freeway rides available to Waymo employees in Los Angeles.
Waymo is working to expand its autonomous driving tech into trucking as well, but it said last year 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.”