taxi! What we know about Waymos 2025 expansion plans The public has a long way to go before it trusts autonomous vehicles. Sharon Feldman Feb 27, 2025 11:18 am | 11 Los Angeles is among the cities where Waymo's robotaxis will become more common in 2025. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Los Angeles is among the cities where Waymo's robotaxis will become more common in 2025. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWaymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving subsidiary, has been rapidly expanding its self-driving robotaxi across various US cities, introducing both testing phases and public ride-hailing operations. Despite these expansion plans, many people remain hesitant to embrace autonomous technology. A Pew Research Center study from 2022 found that 45 percent of Americans would not feel comfortable sharing the road with driverless vehicles.Much of this skepticism comes from the coverage in the media of autonomous driving incidents. Crashes are rare, so when they do happen, they make headlines and fuel the idea that these cars are untrustworthy. The hype around a few high-profile crashes can easily drown out the bigger picture.The data tells a different story, though. In collaboration with Swiss insurance company Swiss Re, Waymo conducted a study analyzing 25.3 million miles driven by its autonomous vehicles. The findings revealed an 88 percent reduction in property damage claims and a 92 percent reduction in bodily injury claims compared to human-driven vehicles for the same distance traveled.Even the mandated NHTSA reports on Waymo incidents show only 47 injuries from 2021 to 2024, with three classified as serious. A recent fatal multi-vehicle accident gained media attention due to Waymos involvement, but the autonomous vehicle was stationary at the time and not responsible for the accident.The data suggests that self-driving cars could make the roads safer. But as the tech keeps maturing and more data rolls in, getting the public on board is just as important as the innovation itself. And Waymo will be able to collect more data as it expands its operations in 2025.Expansion plansLos AngelesWaymo launched its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Los Angeles in March 2024, initially covering a 63-square-mile area from Santa Monica to Downtown LA.By February 2025, the service has expanded to nearly 80 square miles, and Waymo began testing its driverless operations on the freeways. Initially, freeway rides will be available only to Waymo employees, with plans to gradually expand access to the public, just as they did with non-freeway routes.Additionally, Waymo introduced a transit credit pilot program running from February 4 to April 1, 2025. Riders connecting to any of eight eligible transit stations receive a $3 credit toward their Waymo fare to promote integration with public transit. According to Waymo, this program was proven successful in San Francisco.AustinIn early 2024, Waymo started fully autonomous testing in Austin, covering a 43-square-mile area, including downtown, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin, and Hyde Park. Initially, rides were available only to employees, with services opening to select members of the public later that year.In partnership with Uber, Waymo plans to officially launch its autonomous ride service in early 2025. Meanwhile, Tesla is gearing up to test its Cybercab ride-hailing service in Austin later this year. Texas AV-friendly regulations have made it a prime destination for companies looking to expand their autonomous vehicle operations.New cities welcoming WaymoSan Diego and Las VegasIn January 2025, Waymo announced plans to expand testing to over 10 new cities, beginning with San Diego and Las Vegas. Fewer than 10 vehicles per city will be manually operated by trained specialists for a few months before transitioning to autonomous testing.These cities were specifically chosen to challenge Waymo vehicles since both cities have unique layouts and unconventional road designs.AtlantaIn partnership with Uber, Waymo plans to launch autonomous ride-hailing services in Atlanta in early 2025. The collaboration will use Waymo's fully autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles, with Uber managing and dispatching the fleet through its app.MiamiWaymo is preparing to introduce its robotaxi service in Miami, with testing of driverless vehicles set to begin in 2025. The company aims to launch public ride-hailing services in the city by 2026.TokyoIn December 2024, Waymo announced its first international expansion into Tokyo, partnering with Nihon Kotsu and the ride-hailing app GO to integrate autonomous technology into the city's complex urban environment. The initial phase will deploy 25 manually operated vehicles to map key districts, but there are no immediate plans for public ride-hailing.In addition to these new cities, Waymo continues testing in Michigans Upper Peninsula, upstate New York, and Truckee, California, to evaluate driving in different weather conditions.Cruise hits the brakesAs Waymo moves forward with expansion, one of its biggest competitors has pulled the plug on its robotaxi program. GM announced in December 2024 that the company was shutting down Cruise, its autonomous ridesharing service. After nearly a decade of development costing over $10 billion, GM acknowledged the challenges of scaling this type of business.Cruise also faced public scrutiny when a serious accident made headlines in 2023. One of its vehicles operating in San Francisco hit and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet down the street. This incident led to the suspension of Cruises permit, forcing it to halt services nationwide and causing the CEO to resign. Fortunately, the pedestrian survived.Ford also took a step back from developing robotaxis back in 2022 when it shut down Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle startup it was backing.Meanwhile, Tesla continues to forge ahead with testing its Cybercab in Austin despite regulatory challenges. Its autonomous taxis will allegedly be available to the public by 2027. 11 Comments