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, DC 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 formalise the legal framework needed to operate without a human behind the wheel, as Washington, DC does not 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 four million paid trips in 2024. It plans to add Atlanta and Miami and then Washington, DC.
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 it had closed a $5.6bn (R102.41bn) funding round led by Google-parent Alphabet as it looks to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service despite concerns from regulators about safety issues.
In May last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 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.
The NHTSA said several incidents "involved collisions with clearly visible objects 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 on Tuesday that based on collision data from more than 80-million rider-only kilometres, Waymo vehicles have been involved in 81%, or 154, fewer injury-causing crashes compared to an average human driver.
Waymo eyes Washington for 2026 self-driving taxi rollout
Image: Mario Tama/Getty Images
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, DC 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 formalise the legal framework needed to operate without a human behind the wheel, as Washington, DC does not 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 four million paid trips in 2024. It plans to add Atlanta and Miami and then Washington, DC.
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 it had closed a $5.6bn (R102.41bn) funding round led by Google-parent Alphabet as it looks to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service despite concerns from regulators about safety issues.
In May last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 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.
The NHTSA said several incidents "involved collisions with clearly visible objects 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 on Tuesday that based on collision data from more than 80-million rider-only kilometres, Waymo vehicles have been involved in 81%, or 154, fewer injury-causing crashes compared to an average human driver.
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