Waymo has secured new approval to operate fully autonomous vehicles across wider regions of California, the company confirmed in a post on Friday. The updated authorization, issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, significantly expands the areas where the Alphabet-owned robotaxi service can test and deploy its driverless vehicles.
According to newly published DMV maps, Waymo can now operate across much of the East Bay and North Bay — including Napa and surrounding Wine Country regions — as well as Sacramento in Northern California. In Southern California, its permitted territory now stretches from Santa Clarita to San Diego. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Waymo will still need additional regulatory clearance before it can begin carrying paying passengers in certain newly approved regions.
Waymo said it intends to launch service in San Diego by mid-2026, reaffirming plans it previously announced for several new markets. The company has outlined ambitions to expand next year into cities including Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
The announcement follows several other recent expansion updates. Waymo said it will enter Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Tampa; will remove safety drivers ahead of its commercial rollout in Miami; and plans to begin offering rides using freeways in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.
