Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service in California

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 10: In an aerial view, Waymo cars are seen parked at a Waymo facility on June 10, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Waymo is continuing its gradual approach to the robotaxi business by gradually expanding its service area in the key cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The company announced that starting June 17th, it would begin accepting passengers further south along the San Francisco Peninsula in cities such as Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, and Burlingame. In Silicon Valley Additionally, riders in Palo Alto and Menlo Park will now be able to hail Waymo’s driverless vehicles.

In Los Angeles, Waymo is set to launch on June 18th in neighborhoods including Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and the entirety of Sunset Boulevard. The company had briefly suspended its service in Los Angeles earlier this month following protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) set several robotaxis on fire.

Waymo stated that it is expanding its service area in both cities by 80 square miles, bringing its total coverage area in California to 250 square miles. The company recently celebrated reaching the milestone of 10 million paid rides and is currently serving 250,000 rides each week across its four markets: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Phoenix. For those keeping track, Waymo has eliminated the waitlist and went public in San Francisco in June 2024 and Los Angeles in November 2024.

Waymo operates its ride-hailing service in California exclusively through its app, Waymo One. In Austin and soon Atlanta, the company has chosen to partner with Uber, making its vehicles available only through that platform.

This service map expansion coincides with the company’s plans to more than double the size of its vehicle fleet. The Alphabet subsidiary currently has 1,500 Jaguar I-Pace SUVs operating across its four main markets and plans to add 2,000 more vehicles by 2026, resulting in a total fleet size of 3,500.

However, Waymo is still proceeding cautiously regarding highway driving and airport access—two critical areas for competing effectively with Uber and Lyft in the future. Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli indicated that the company is still testing its vehicles with employees on the highways in San Francisco and Los Angeles and is in active discussions with both cities’ airports about potential future service. While Waymo has been conducting airport trips at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport since late 2022, it has yet to deploy its driverless vehicles at either San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).