Overview
- Paid highway trips are initially limited to Trusted‑Tester cohorts in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, with broader access to follow through the Waymo app.
- Bay Area coverage now includes San José with curbside pickups and drop‑offs at San Jose Mineta International Airport.
- To support the rollout, Waymo says it will expand its Bay Area fleet from more than 800 vehicles to over 1,000 robotaxis.
- The feature covers most but not all major freeways in the service zones, and an on‑road demo on US‑101 cut a route by 17 minutes as Waymo claims up to 50% faster trips.
- Waymo cites millions of freeway test miles, sensor redundancy and coordination with authorities such as the California Highway Patrol, and the launch directly challenges Elon Musk’s August claim that its sensor mix cannot handle highways.