Waymo has been testing its driverless cars in Miami intermittently for the last five years, but now it’s making serious moves to launch a robotaxi service there.
The Alphabet-owned company revealed on Thursday that it’ll start testing its Jaguar I-PACE autonomous cars on the streets of the Magic City early next year, with the aim of launching a robotaxi service for residents and visitors via the Waymo One app in 2026.
Waymo said it’s partnering with African mobility fintech company Moove to help it with the management of its fleet of autonomous vehicles in Miami. This is a first for Waymo, and suggests that going forward it would like to outsource the commercial elements of its robotaxi business, leaving it to concentrate on improving its autonomous technologies.
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“Together [with Moove], we will provide safe, seamless trips for riders, and scale faster and more cost-effectively over time, with safety continuing to lead the way,” Waymo executive Ryan McNamara said in a post on Waymo’s website announcing the Miami plan.
Francis X. Suarez, Miami’s mayor, had some warm words to share, too, saying: “Fully autonomous driving technology offers a safe and convenient option to the people of Miami … Waymo’s commitment to sustainability with their all-electric fleet is the perfect mobility option to our city as we continue to prioritize low cost, clean energy.”
Waymo said that it’s already providing more than 150,000 robotaxi trips per week to people across Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin, and is now ready to bring the same service to the folks of Miami.
The expansion comes as Waymo and similar firms like General Motors-owned Cruise face increased scrutiny from regulators over the safety of autonomous vehicles.
Cruise, in particular, suffered a serious setback in October last year when one of its driverless vehicles ran over a woman after she was knocked into its path by a human-driven car in San Francisco. Days after California suspended Cruise’s operating license over the incident, the company halted the testing of its vehicles on public streets nationwide, and it’s only recently started to make a careful return to testing.
The Miami expansion demonstrates Waymo’s commitment to scaling its operations across multiple U.S. cities, solidifying its position in the competitive autonomous vehicle market.