Waymo's Self-Driving Taxis Reach One Million Kilometers Weekly

San Jose, California, October 31 (dpa) – Waymo, the autonomous vehicle subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, aims to strengthen its leading position in the U.S. self-driving taxi market by expanding operations into additional cities. According to the company, Waymo's autonomous taxis conduct over 150,000 trips and cover more than one million kilometers weekly with passengers onboard, all without a driver at the wheel.

Currently, Waymo operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and most recently in Atlanta. However, the company has not disclosed which new cities it plans to expand into in the near future.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai noted that Waymo vehicles have rapidly become part of daily life in Austin and Atlanta, adding that Waymo's partnership with Uber Technologies has helped fuel this growth.

Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled a prototype of a fully self-driving electric vehicle designed for taxi use, with plans to begin production in 2026, aiming for an annual output of approximately two million units. Musk has long promised a self-driving electric taxi, yet Tesla’s vehicles still rely on driver-assistance systems requiring a human driver behind the wheel, while Waymo’s vehicles operate completely driver-free.

Nonetheless, Waymo’s autonomous taxis are costly due to the high price of safety technologies, such as additional sensors like laser-based radar for 360-degree environmental scanning, posing challenges to profitability in production and operation. Waymo has announced plans to develop a more cost-effective advanced driving system.