Waymo announced on Tuesday that it intends to introduce its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Washington, D.C., in 2026, expanding its commercial operations to the U.S. capital.
The Alphabet-owned company began deploying vehicles in the city in January and plans to bring in more units in the coming weeks as it prepares for the launch. “We will also work closely with policymakers to formalize the legal framework needed to operate without a human behind the wheel, as Washington, D.C. does not currently allow for fully autonomous operations,” Waymo said.
See also: Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service to More Areas in Silicon Valley
Waymo One, its commercial ride-hailing service, currently provides over 200,000 paid trips weekly across San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin. The company has completed more than 4 million paid rides in 2024 and plans to expand to Atlanta and Miami before entering Washington, D.C.
The move places Waymo in proximity to federal regulators and lawmakers, as automakers and tech firms continue to urge the U.S. government to expedite approvals for autonomous vehicle deployment. However, concerns over safety remain.
See also: Waymo Launches Fully Autonomous Ride Service in Austin via Uber App
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation in May following 22 reports of Waymo robotaxis exhibiting potentially unsafe driving behaviors, including 17 collisions. The agency noted that some incidents involved vehicles striking “clearly visible objects that a competent driver would be expected to avoid.”
Waymo has previously addressed safety issues through software recalls. In June 2023, it recalled 672 vehicles after a driverless car collided with a utility pole in Phoenix. Another recall in February 2024 affected 444 vehicles due to a software error that misinterpreted the movements of towed vehicles.
See also: Waymo to Test Autonomous Vehicles in 10 New Cities, Starting with Las Vegas and San Diego
Despite these challenges, Waymo defended its safety record, stating that based on over 50 million rider-only miles, its vehicles have been involved in 154 fewer injury-causing crashes—an 81% reduction compared to human drivers.