Waymo said Tuesday that he will start offering Robotaxi walks through the Waymo One application in Washington DC in 2026.
Before it can be launched commercially, the company will have to increase its lobbying game in the Capitol, where autonomous vehicles permits still require a human behind the steering wheel.
Waymo’s news occurs when the company owned by the alphabet aggressively expands its robotaxi coverage to consolidate its leadership ahead of potential competitors such as the Amazon Zoox and Elon Musk’s Tesla. Musk said Tesla will launch a Robotaxi service in Austin this summer and California at some point this year.
Waymo already operates a commercial service in Phoenix, Los Angeles, the Bay Area and, more recently, Austin, in association with the Uber transport transport firm. Waymo also intends to launch a Robotaxi service through Uber in Atlanta this year, and has already begun transporting employees in totally autonomous vehicles in the city. Miami is the following in the Waymo public launch list for 2026, along with DC
To increase even more enthusiasm and awareness, Waymo has said that he plans to start mapping in 10 cities this year, including Las Vegas, San Diego and, until Monday, Nashville.
The Waymo DC announcement occurs two months after the company launched a small test fleet of its Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis in the city, where it has been driving manually and testing autonomously with a security driver behind the steering wheel.
The Waymo business model depends on eliminating the human driver from the vehicle. The company said it will work with those in charge of formulating policies to update the district permits rules to allow totally autonomous vehicles to drive on public roads.
