At a Glance
- Waymo opens its robotaxi service to the public in Miami, starting with a 60-square-mile area and a waitlist of nearly 10,000 residents.
- The rollout is rolling and will later expand to Miami International Airport.
- The company plans to reach 1 million trips per week by the end of 2026.
Waymo has announced that its robotaxi service is now available to the general public in Miami. The company will begin serving residents on its waitlist, letting them hail driverless vehicles within a 60-square-mile area that includes the Design District, Wynwood, Brickell, and Coral Gables.
Launch Details
Waymo’s public launch in Miami follows a phased approach that began months ago. After mapping and testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads, the company removed safety operators from the fleet in November. The driverless service was initially open only to employees before opening to the public on a rolling basis.
The service area covers a broad swath of the city, allowing riders to hail a robotaxi from any corner of the designated zone. Once a rider is accepted, the vehicle will navigate the streets using Waymo’s advanced perception and decision-making systems.
Expansion Roadmap
Waymo has a clear plan to grow its robotaxi footprint beyond Miami. The company has already started testing in several cities and aims to bring the service to nearly a dozen new markets over the next year. These include:
| City | Status | Vehicle Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| Denver | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| Detroit | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| Houston | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| Las Vegas | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| Nashville | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| London | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| San Diego | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| Seattle | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
| Washington, D.C. | Testing | Jaguar I-Pace |
Waymo also plans to add freeways to its existing markets and is testing newer Zeekr RT vans rebranded as “Ojai.” The company’s aggressive timeline was outlined in an interview with Tekedra Mawakana during News Of Philadelphia Disrupt last October.
> “by the end of 2026, you should expect us to be offering 1 million trips per week,” said Tekedra Mawakana.
Safety and Regulatory Challenges
The rollout has not been without issues. In San Francisco, residents captured video of Waymo vehicles creating traffic jams during a widespread power outage in December. Similar concerns arose in Austin, where school district officials reported that Waymo vehicles passed stopped school buses even when the lights were on and the stop sign was deployed.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an initial investigation in October over the company’s handling of a stopped school bus in Atlanta. The investigation focused on how the robotaxis operated around the bus.
Waymo issued a voluntary software recall to address the issue. However, new videos show that the problem may persist, indicating that the fix may not be fully effective.
Future Outlook
Waymo’s expansion strategy mirrors its earlier rollouts in Phoenix (2020), San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, where it opened to the public in 2024. The company has since partnered with Uber to launch services in Atlanta and Austin in spring 2025, expanding service areas to include freeways.
The company’s goal of 1 million trips per week by the end of 2026 signals a rapid scaling effort. While regulatory scrutiny and safety incidents pose challenges, Waymo’s continued testing and software updates aim to resolve these issues.
Key Takeaways
- Waymo has begun offering robotaxi service to Miami residents on a rolling basis.
- The company plans to expand to Miami International Airport and nearly a dozen other cities.
- Safety incidents and regulatory investigations have highlighted the need for robust software updates.
- Waymo’s long-term goal is to provide 1 million trips per week by 2026.
The company’s progress in Miami marks a significant step toward mainstream autonomous ride-hailing, but the path forward will require careful attention to safety and regulatory compliance.
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About the Author
James O Connor Fields is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at News Of Philadelphia and co-host of News Of Philadelphia‘s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review, and CBS Interactive.
You can contact or verify outreach from James O Connor Fields by emailing James O Connor Fields@News Of Philadelphia.com or via encrypted message at James O Connor Fields.07 on Signal.
