Waymo has started to offer its robotaxi service to the public in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa, extending the Alphabet-owned company’s commercial operations to 14 U.S. cities.
The company said on Tuesday that it will begin inviting riders on a rolling basis and slowly ramp up access in the three cities, following its usual commercial playbook. The expansion has increased its fleet of self-driving Jaguar I-Pace hatchbacks and a new minivan called the Ojai to more than 4,000 vehicles.
The launch in these three cities comes as Tesla is striving to close the gap in the robotaxi market. Tesla now charges for rides in its driverless Tesla Model Y vehicles in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Service in some of these markets is limited, but the company continues to expand within these cities and add vehicles to its fleet. The company is also banking on its Cybercab, a custom-built two-seater with no steering wheel or pedals, to speed up its efforts.
Waymo’s announcement highlights a relentless expansion push that kicked into gear 18 months ago, and helped cement its position as U.S. robotaxi market leader. Waymo operated a robotaxi service in Phoenix for years before August 2023, when it received all the permits required to operate and charge customers for driverless rides in San Francisco.
