Google Parent's Waymo to Launch Self-Driving Cabs in US Capital Next Year

Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo said on Tuesday it aims to launch its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the US capital city next year. Waymo began moving vehicles to Washington, D.C., in January and will bring more to the city in the coming weeks as it works to start paid commercial services as soon as next year.

"We will also work closely with policymakers to formalize the legal framework needed to operate without a human behind the wheel, as Washington, D.C. does not currently allow for fully autonomous operations," Waymo said on Tuesday.

Waymo One, the company's fully autonomous ride-hailing service, is providing more than 200,000 paid passenger trips each week in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin after more than 4 million paid trips in 2024. It plans to add Atlanta and Miami and then Washington, D.C. The US capital is home to federal regulators and lawmakers. Automakers and tech companies want the government to do more to speed vehicle deployments.

Waymo said in October that it had closed a $5.6 billion funding round led by Google-parent Alphabet, as it looks to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service despite some concerns from regulators about safety issues.

In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation after receiving 22 reports about Waymo robotaxis exhibiting driving behaviour that potentially violated traffic safety laws, or demonstrating other "unexpected behaviour," including 17 collisions. NHTSA said several incidents “involved collisions with clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid.”

Waymo last June recalled 672 of its self-driving vehicles after one of its driverless cars struck a wooden utility pole in Phoenix in May. The recall included a software update to improve vehicles' detection response to poles and “robust mapping updates and improvements.” In February 2024, Waymo recalled 444 self-driving vehicles after two minor collisions in quick succession in Arizona, saying a software error could result in automated vehicles inaccurately predicting the movement of a towed vehicle.

Waymo said Tuesday that based on collision data from more than 50 million rider-only miles (80.5 million km), Waymo vehicles have been involved in 81 per cent, or 154, fewer injury-causing crashes compared to an average human driver.

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