Safe, Routine, Ready: Autonomous driving in five new cities

Waymo is introducing fully autonomous driving in five new cities: Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. Operations start today in Miami, and will begin in the remaining four cities over the coming weeks, ahead of opening our doors to riders next year. While going rider-only was once considered a technical feat, it's become routine for Waymo. We've built a generalizable Driver, powered by Waymo’s demonstrably safe AI, and an operational playbook to reliably achieve this milestone, and our safety- and community-first approach, enables us to bring it to riders faster than ever.

Waymo’s quickly entering a number of new cities in the U.S. and around the world, and our approach to every new city is consistent. We compare our driving performance against a proven baseline to validate the performance of the Waymo Driver and identify any unique local characteristics. As needed, we then refine the Waymo Driver’s AI to navigate these local nuances—which are becoming fewer with every city. This data feeds into a flywheel of continuous improvement, bolstered by rigorous validation through real-world driving and advanced simulation, then implemented through regular software releases. The result is that all of our riders experience consistent, high-quality service with the highest safety standards. The data demonstrates the Waymo Driver is improving road safety in the cities we serve, including involvement in 11 times fewer serious injury collisions compared to human drivers.

We haven’t just built the technology; we’ve developed the definitive playbook for operating autonomous fleets, across dozens of sites, and industry-leading end-to-end rider support. And we’re teaching our partners how to operate autonomous fleets at scale, creating new economic opportunities while bringing the safety benefits of Waymo to more people.

Successfully scaling requires more than just world-class technology and operations; it requires earning the trust of those we seek to serve. We are committed to bringing policymakers, regulators, safety officials, and community partners on the journey with us so they can have a thorough understanding of how our technology works and the benefits it can provide their communities. We engage in continuous, constructive dialogue and work with local stakeholders and residents to actively listen, learn, and serve their transportation needs.

The future of transportation is accelerating, and we are driving it forward with a commitment to quality and safety. Our rigorous process of continuous iteration, validation, and local engagement ensures that we put communities first as we expand. This commitment is how we will continue to bring the safe, reliable, and magical ride-hail experience to more Waymo riders around the globe. We look forward to welcoming you aboard.

Interested in experiencing Waymo for yourself? Sign up for updates at waymo.com/updates. To dive deeper into our safety approach and technology, visit waymo.com/safety.