Waymo removes safety drivers in Miami ahead of 2026 launch

Waymo is officially removing safety operators from its robotaxis in Miami starting today, marking another significant step toward its full commercial rollout planned for 2026. The move continues Waymo's steady nationwide expansion throughout the year.

In a blog post on Tuesday, the company said Miami employees can now request fully autonomous rides with no one behind the wheel. Over the next several weeks, the same capability will roll out to workers in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando as part of its internal testing program.

This milestone comes just a week after Waymo crossed a significant threshold: enabling paid autonomous highway trips for riders in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. In 2024 alone, the company launched new operations in Atlanta and Austin, announced partnerships with companies such as Uber, and introduced a corporate travel program to broaden its reach.

Waymo isn't moving in isolation.
Zoox — Amazon's autonomous vehicle subsidiary — revealed earlier on Tuesday that it will begin offering free trips in its custom-built robotaxis to early rider program members in San Francisco, echoing a similar rollout in Las Vegas back in September.

Tesla is testing its own ride-hailing service in Austin, though its vehicles still require safety operators. Despite Elon Musk's claims that Tesla's robotaxi network would cover half the U.S. by late 2025, that prediction has yet to align with reality on the road.

Amid growing competition, Waymo is projecting confidence.
"We haven't just built the technology; we've developed the definitive playbook for operating autonomous fleets… and industry-leading end-to-end rider support," the company wrote.

That confidence will be crucial as Waymo approaches 2026 — a year expected to be even more ambitious than 2025. Beyond Miami and the other five cities where Waymo is operating driverless internally, Waymo plans to launch public services in Detroit, Las Vegas, San Diego, Nashville, and London. It is also testing in New York City under an active permit valid through the end of the year.

At TechCrunch Disrupt last month, co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said the company aims to reach 1 million autonomous trips per week by the end of 2026.

Still, the expansion hasn't been without scrutiny. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating Waymo after one of its vehicles in Atlanta was caught on video turning in front of a stopped school bus.