Alphabet's self-driving subsidiary Waymo announced on Tuesday that it has opened its autonomous ride-hailing service to select members of the public in four cities: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. This multi-city expansion brings Waymo’s operational footprint to 10 U.S. cities, reinforcing its leadership in the North American autonomous vehicle ride-hailing market. The company is working to secure a loyal user base and address public concerns—a 2025 survey by the American Automobile Association indicated that six out of ten American drivers remain apprehensive about self-driving vehicles.
The expansion comes as competitors, including Tesla, Amazon’s Zoox, and startups such as Waabi and Nuro, are advancing their own commercial autonomous taxi services in the United States. Leading Asian autonomous driving firms, including Baidu’s Apollo Go and publicly listed WeRide, are also actively capturing market share overseas.
Waymo stated that "select invited users" who have downloaded its app in these four cities will receive invitations to experience the initial local service. The company plans to gradually invite more passengers, with the goal of fully opening the service in these markets by the end of 2026.
In a blog post, Waymo described Tuesday’s expansion as deepening its commitment to Texas and Florida. Earlier this year, Waymo launched services in Miami, and last year it began operations in Austin in partnership with Uber. The company also offers services in Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
In the four newly added cities, Waymo will deploy its fifth-generation autonomous driving system based on the Jaguar I-PACE. Earlier this month, the company began testing its sixth-generation system, built on Geely’s Ojai all-electric model, with employees and guests in California.
In February, Waymo announced it had raised $16 billion in funding, valuing the company at $126 billion, with Alphabet as the primary investor. According to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Waymo operated just over 3,000 autonomous vehicles as of the end of January. The automotive safety regulator has opened an investigation into the vehicles' behavior near schools and school buses.
Waymo has also faced criticism for its vehicles’ performance during a power outage caused by a storm in San Francisco last December, when multiple autonomous cars stopped in the road, worsening traffic congestion.
In a letter this month to Democratic Senator Edward Markey, Waymo reported that it now handles more than 400,000 paid trips per week across the United States, with total rides exceeding 20 million. Senator Markey has called on Waymo and other autonomous vehicle developers to improve transparency regarding the use of human assistance, particularly when "remote assistants" from off-site support centers guide vehicles through complex driving situations.