Waymo Is Spreading To More Cities — Here's Where It's Heading Next

In Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Austin, you'll see Waymo self-driving taxis on the gridlock roads of downtown, dealing with the same traffic, unexpected chaos, and obstacles as regular drivers. The only thing that gives Waymo away from everyday traffic is its cameras and sensors. Over 1 million rides have been requested throughout Los Angeles alone as Waymo expands across the city and even ventures onto the highways. Now, Waymo is aiming to expand its reach to even more cities across the United States in 2025. According to an exclusive interview with The Verge, Waymo's autonomous vehicles are heading to 10 new cities this year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego. This could be followed by Atlanta and Miami in 2026. 

Waymo won't be available for rides right away. Initially, Waymo will conduct manual testing throughout the city streets to test its operations in a new location. Every city has its own challenges, including weather conditions and driving habits, which Waymo has to master before it becomes widely available. At the start of the tests, the Jaguar I-PACEs will be manually driven. No specific date has been given for when the full services will launch in these new cities. 

The next cities that Waymo is targeting have been chosen not based on their size or population, but rather on how challenging those places will be for the autonomous vehicles to navigate. Las Vegas was selected due to its dense traffic, overwhelming drop-off zones along the Strip, and stressful street layout. Product Manager Nick Rose said that the city will hopefully challenge Waymo's system with its unique and confusing driving conditions.

"When we go to a brand new city in the U.S., there are things that are subtly different," Rose said to The Verge. "And we want to see how well the driver performs on those things out of the box without having to retrain or make adjustments." Previously, Waymo vehicles were sent to upstate New York, Michigan, and Truckee, California to see how they'd manage in winter driving conditions. Waymo also had to learn the difference between fire trucks in San Francisco and Los Angeles in hopes of the system better identifying emergencies — and staying out of the way. 

To start, fewer than 10 vehicles will be sent to each city. The Waymo vehicles will be driven around for a few months to learn the new cityscapes and how to navigate them.

Waymo utilizes a program called Waymo Driver, which relies on sensors and artificial intelligence software to drive around on busy city streets. The process is called "Sense, Solve, Go," starting with sensors outside the car that help the vehicle navigate and spot obstacles. One of the most powerful sensors is Lidar, which allows Waymo to know the exact size, speed, and distance of the objects all around it. 

Waymo Driver will then utilize all this data to determine the safest route, using AI to learn, react, and innovate in real time. This helps Waymo not only deal with ever-changing traffic and environmental situations but also learn how to improve for next time. According to the company, Waymo Driver is designed to be "cautious and defensive" in its driving techniques. Its autonomous cars avoid dangers, find the safest spot to drop off riders, avoid collisions (which are often caused by other drivers), and interact with law enforcement, one of its biggest challenges. Waymo's focus is on safety, and there are various criteria that Waymo Driver must excel in before it's considered safe to deploy.