Overview
- Waymo began fully autonomous trips for employees in Miami and will remove in‑car safety operators in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando in the coming weeks ahead of public launches in 2026.
- The company recently added paid freeway routes in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix and remains the only U.S. operator offering paid rides without safety drivers, with a fleet exceeding 1,500 vehicles.
- Amazon-owned Zoox launched a free waitlist-based rider program in San Francisco’s SoMa, Mission and Design District, extending its public pilot after a Las Vegas debut while it seeks approvals to charge fares.
- Zoox is pursuing a federal Part 555 commercial exemption for its purpose‑built vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, a step it says would enable broader paid deployments.
- Tesla secured an Arizona ride‑hailing permit and continues pilots with human monitors in Austin and the Bay Area, as regulators scrutinize safety including an ongoing NHTSA probe into Waymo software behavior near stopped school buses.