Waymo Expands to 10 Cities, Logs 200M Autonomous Miles, Faces NHTSA Probe
Waymo has expanded its autonomous ride-hailing service to 10 cities, including Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Orlando, and has driven over 200 million autonomous miles. It increased weekly rides from 450,000 to a projected 1 million and faces an NHTSA probe after crashes involving parked vehicles and a school-zone collision.
1. Expansion to 10 Cities
On February 25, Waymo rolled out its autonomous ride-hailing service in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Orlando, raising its total to 10 operating cities across the U.S. This marks a significant geographic footprint increase as the company competes in the global robotaxi market.
2. Ride Growth and Milestones
The service has accumulated over 200 million autonomous miles and scaled weekly rides from 450,000 to an expected 1 million by year-end. These milestones underscore Waymo’s growing passenger adoption and system reliability improvements over time.
3. Safety Incidents and NHTSA Probe
Despite growth, Waymo reported multiple collisions, including a robotaxi crashing into parked vehicles in California and a school-zone incident involving a child. These events prompted an NHTSA investigation encompassing more than 3,000 autonomous vehicles.
4. Competitive Landscape
Tesla is preparing to launch its sub-$30,000 Cybercab in April while its Austin robotaxi service recorded five January crashes, totaling 14 since mid-2025. Meanwhile, Baidu-backed Apollo Go has hit 300,000 weekly rides and begun service expansion into South Korea.