Prime Highlights

• Waymo has started manual test driving its robotaxi vehiclesin Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, expanding its U.S. operations to 26 markets.
• The expansion demonstrates Waymo’s growing confidence in operating autonomous vehicles in cities with colder weather and challenging conditions.

Key Facts

• Waymo currently provides over 250,000 weekly paid tripsacross Austin, San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, with more than 10 million paid rides since 2020.
• The company plans further expansion, including Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando in 2026, and recently added freeway routes in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

Background

Waymo announced on Wednesday that it has started manual test driving of its robotaxi vehicles in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. The move marks another step in the Alphabet-owned company’s rapid expansion across the United States, bringing the total number of markets where Waymo is operating, testing, or preparing to launch service to 26.

A company spokesperson said the test-driving phase in the three new cities begins this week, with the long-term goal of offering fully autonomous rides. The expansion reflects Waymo’s growing confidence in operating in cities with colder weather, an environment that presents additional challenges for autonomous vehicle systems.

The announcement comes at a time when competition in the robotaxi market is intensifying. Recently, Amazon’s Zoox started providing complimentary rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco, and earlier this year, Tesla introduced a ride-hailing service with human attendants in Austin and San Francisco. Waymo has responded with a series of market expansions and service upgrades over the past month.

In November, Waymo also said it would begin manual driving in Minneapolis, Tampa, and New Orleans. The company announced plans to start services in Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando in 2026. It recently added freeway routes in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, and hired a new finance chief to support its growth.

Waymo remains one of the most widely used robotaxi operators in the country. It currently carries more than 250,000 weekly paid trips in Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Earlier this year, Waymo reported providing over 10 million paid rides since its commercial launch in 2020.

The addition of Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis expands Waymo’s presence across the country and shows that the company plans to speed up its self-driving ride services in different cities.