Waymo Doubles Down in California
Waymo just made its boldest move yet. The self-driving arm of Alphabet has expanded its commercial ride-hailing service to over 250 square miles across California. This includes big additions in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, putting fully autonomous rides within reach for millions more.
L.A. Gets Wider Coverage
Los Angeles now sees over 120 square miles of Waymo service. That includes Santa Monica, Downtown, West Hollywood, Inglewood, and more. Newly added zones like Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park, and Silver Lake make this rollout the company’s largest in SoCal to date.
Want to ride from Mid-City to Inglewood via La Cienega? Done. Sunset Boulevard from end to end? Covered. Despite brief service interruptions tied to protests downtown, Waymo is forging ahead—with limited access to a few central districts for now.
Bay Area Rollout Expands Too
In the Bay Area, Waymo has added Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, and Burlingame. Silicon Valley coverage also deepens, including more of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Mountain View.
With 600+ autonomous vehicles operating there, Waymo’s fleet is becoming a fixture in one of tech’s biggest strongholds.
250,000 Rides a Week—and Rising
Waymo One now runs in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, offering over 250,000 paid rides weekly—a 5x jump from just a year ago. In Austin, you can even book a ride through the Uber app.
Each vehicle uses advanced lidar, radar, and sensors. The result? 88% fewer serious crashes, and 93% fewer pedestrian incidents compared to human drivers.
What’s Next? A Global Push
Waymo plans to hit Miami, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. by 2026. Testing is already underway in Las Vegas and San Diego, while Tokyo becomes its first market outside the U.S.
With a massive new factory in Phoenix and fresh partnerships with Hyundai and Toyota, Waymo is aiming to make robotaxis the norm—not the novelty.
