Waymo’s robotaxis are coming to three new cities

Waymo said it plans to launch commercial robotaxi services in three new cities: San Diego, Vegasand Detroit. This announcement comes after the company said it would start Scaling quickly To bring fully driverless technology to more people on a faster timeline.

Waymo hasn’t said exactly when it plans to open its vehicles to customers in the three cities, but it will likely be sometime next year. The company currently operates in five cities: San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. She also said she wants to launch in Boston, Seattle, Denver, Miami, New York City and Washington, D.C. (The company faces local opposition in both Boston and Seattle.)

Waymo has been licensed for autonomous transportation services in California, but will still need to obtain approval in Nevada and Michigan before it can operate fully self-driving cars commercially. Waymo spokesman Sandy Karp said Waymo will need a permit from Michigan’s Transportation Network and testing approval from both the Nevada DMV and the state Transportation Commission for commercial operations.

“We will follow our safety framework and serve riders in these cities when we properly validate our technology and obtain the necessary permissions, with the intention of opening our doors to riders next year,” Karp added in an email.

Waymo also says it will add The new Zeekr RT The vehicles will be added to its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace SUVs when they are ready to begin commercial operations in the three cities announced today. The Zeekr RT, made by Chinese company Geely, will be equipped with the company’s 6G technology, which Waymo says is more Cost effective.