Waymo said on Wednesday it will begin offering robotaxi rides that include freeway driving in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, marking a major expansion for the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company. The move will allow faster travel across metropolitan areas, with ride times expected to be cut by up to 50%, according to the company.
The new capability will enable rides between suburban areas and cities, as well as trips to key destinations such as San Francisco International Airport, where testing is already underway. Initially, freeway rides will be available only to selected Waymo riders who opt in via the app, the company said.
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The expanded routes will stretch to San Jose, forming a 260-mile service area across the San Francisco Peninsula, and will include curbside pickup and drop-off at San Jose Mineta International Airport. Waymo already provides similar service at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
“Freeway driving is one of those things that’s very easy to learn, but very hard to master when we’re talking about full autonomy without a human driver as a backup, and at scale,” Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said during a media briefing. “It took time to do it properly, with a strong focus on system safety and reliability.”
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The company has been testing freeway operations for months, including employee rides and closed-course simulations. Pierre Kreitmann, Waymo’s principal software engineer, said freeway driving poses distinct challenges because critical events occur less frequently, making it harder to expose the system to rare but important scenarios.
To address this, Waymo combined simulation, closed-course trials, and real-world validation to ensure its vehicles can transition safely between surface streets and freeways. The company also updated operational protocols to coordinate with agencies such as the California Highway Patrol as part of its freeway deployment.