Waymo said on Tuesday it has begun removing safety operators from its autonomous vehicle fleet in Miami, marking another step toward a planned commercial rollout in 2026 as the Alphabet-owned company accelerates its expansion across the United States.
In a blog post, the company said it will initially provide fully driverless rides to employees in Miami and expects to expand this internal program to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando in the coming weeks. The move follows last week’s announcement that Waymo has started offering paid rides on highways in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix.
Waymo has expanded rapidly this year, adding operations in Atlanta and Austin, working with partners such as Uber, and launching a corporate travel program. The company said, “We haven’t just built the technology; we’ve developed the definitive playbook for operating autonomous fleets, across dozens of sites, and industry-leading end-to-end rider support.”
The wider U.S. robotaxi sector is also seeing increased activity. Amazon-owned Zoox said earlier on Tuesday it will begin offering free rides in its purpose-built robotaxis to members of its early rider program in San Francisco, after starting similar trials in Las Vegas in September. Tesla continues to test its own service in Austin, though its vehicles still rely on safety operators. CEO Elon Musk previously claimed the service could reach half the country by the end of 2025.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said last month that “By the end of 2026, you should expect us to be offering 1 million trips per week.” The company expects to launch services in Detroit, Las Vegas, San Diego, Nashville and London in 2026, while also maintaining testing operations in New York City under an existing permit.
The expansion comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigates Waymo’s technology following an incident in Atlanta where one of its vehicles was filmed turning in front of a stopped school bus.