Hailing a taxi in some parts of America comes with a growing chance that when the car arrives, no one will be behind the wheel.
Why it matters: Once the stuff of science fiction, robotaxis are now regularly plying the streets of Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, and will be coming soon to at least a dozen more cities.
The big picture: A flurry of expansion announcements, mostly from Waymo, the industry's 800-pound gorilla, would lead you to believe robotaxis are everywhere.
- In L.A., Phoenix and San Francisco, that might be true, but elsewhere in the U.S., robotaxis are still pretty much a novelty.
- Uber customers in Atlanta or Austin can set their preferences for a robotaxi, for example, but the number of cars is limited, meaning they'll have a longer wait.
Where it stands: Alphabet-owned Waymo is driverless in five cities, with 15 more markets coming in 2026 and beyond.
- Uber and Lyft are gradually adding robotaxis from Waymo and other partners to their ride-hail networks in select markets.
- Tesla has small robotaxi fleets in Austin and San Francisco (with human safety monitors riding along), and Phoenix is likely next. CEO Elon Musk has big expansion plans, but the goalposts keep shifting.
- Most other players, including Amazon's Zoox, Toyota-backed May Mobility, Hyundai-owned Motional and Uber-backed Nuro, are in various stages of testing.
What to watch: Waymo's expanding service areas now include airports in San Jose, Phoenix and, soon, San Francisco.
- It's starting to offer high-speed freeway trips for some users in San Francisco, L.A. and Phoenix.
💭 Joann's thought bubble: A lot of people still have reservations about self-driving cars, but most who try them come away impressed.
- My own excursion across L.A. in a Waymo earlier this year made me a convert.
- I felt safer in the Waymo than I did in the back seat of an Uber weaving through traffic. Plus, I didn't have to make unwanted conversation!
