Waymo rolls out driverless taxis in two new cities

Google’s autonomous car division Waymo has announced that its driverless taxi service will be rolling out across two more US cities.

The robotaxis will be introduced to Denver and Seattle this week, the company said, while permits have also been secured for New York.

Waymo already operates across five US cities – Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco – completing around 250,000 paid trips each week.

The latest launch is part of an aggressive expansion plan to deliver the self-driving taxis to major cities around the world.

“We’re entering a new chapter and accelerating our commercial expansion,” the company said in a blog post.

Waymo will introduce a mixed fleet of Jaguar I-PACE and Zeekr RT vehicles that have been trained for driving in harsher climates.

Around a dozen vehicles will be made available for each city in the initial part of testing, before a wider roll out.

“Whether they need a ride to work, school, the farmer’s market, or they’re heading out for a night on the town, Waymo is a great way for Denverites to get where they’re going safely,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.

“Waymo’s innovative, climate-friendly technology will not only make our streets safer but cleaner.”

The introduction of driverless cars has been met with resistance from some locals, with Waymo cabs vandalised in protests in San Francisco in 2024.

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Frustrations against the technology have also been raised by city officials, who claim that they obstruct emergency vehicles, while taxi unions have complained that they put people’s jobs at risk.

There is also a concern that the lack of a human driver could be dangerous in certain situations.

San Francisco resident Rebecca Solnit described their behaviour as “erratic, unpredictable, and unsettling”, in a post to X. “I also have yet to see a good answer to why we need them,” she added.

There have been several recorded incidents of Waymo taxis and other autonomous services being involved in accidents.

Records kept by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reveal there have been more than 70 incidents involving self-driving cars since the start of the year, with Waymo vehicles accounting for roughly half of them.