Waymo’s fully autonomous car service from Google has started operating in Miami

According to the company’s announcement, nearly 10,000 residents in the Miami area have already signed up for the service in the first phase. The orders are sent gradually, sometimes through waiting lists, in order to enable a controlled assimilation of the technology and adaptation to the local road conditions.

At this point, the service operates in an area of ​​about 60 square miles and includes central areas such as the Design District and Wynwood, which are characterized by dense urban traffic, pedestrians and cyclists. In the meantime, Waymo announced that it intends to further expand its operations to the Miami International Airport, one of the most complex transportation routes in the city.

Even before the opening of the service to the public, Waymo already started last November with test trips without passengers around Miami. This phase is designed to identify unique traffic characteristics, tropical weather conditions and local driving patterns, and to make adjustments to the driving algorithms. The company emphasizes that the experience gained in other cities, together with the local testing phase, now allows a transition to full commercial operation.

Miami is not the first city where Waymo’s robotaxis service operates. The pioneering city was Phoenix, where the service was launched to the general public several years ago and is still considered the main milestone of the company. Later, the activity was expanded to the San Francisco area and the bay, where the service is now available almost all over the city and in large areas south of the peninsula. At the same time, the service also operates in Los Angeles, one of the most challenging cities in terms of traffic congestion, complex intersections and driver behavior.

In Texas, Waymo operates its services in the city of Austin, where some trips are also available through cooperation with Uber. A similar model is also implemented in Atlanta, where you can order a ride in Waymo’s autonomous vehicle directly from the Uber app. This combination is intended to facilitate the adoption of the service among the public, through familiar transportation platforms.

Beyond the cities where the service is already active, Waymo announced plans to launch during 2026 in other cities, including Houston and Dallas, as well as Washington DC, Las Vegas and Orlando. At the same time, test trips are also being made outside the USA, among others in New York, London and Tokyo, but at this stage without full commercial operation.

Against the background of the accelerated expansion, the company’s activities also continue to be accompanied by the public and regulatory debate surrounding the safety of the autonomous vehicle. About a year ago, Waymo announced the opening of the application for booking autonomous trips to the general public in San Francisco, after a long pilot period. On the other hand, the US Highway Safety Authority then raised concerns following several incidents of malfunctions, which included sudden stops and unexpected behavior of the vehicles, and raised questions about the maturity of the technology and the risk of accidents.

Waymo claims that the data collected from the cities where it operates indicate a tenfold decrease in serious injuries in accidents, compared to human driving. The technology on which the vehicles are based includes 360-degree peripheral vision systems, object detection sensors for a range of up to 300 meters, radars and graphic neural networks that enable the prediction of vehicle and pedestrian routes even in complex traffic scenarios. For the passengers, the user experience is relatively simple and includes digital control of starting the trip, stopping and requesting assistance.