Waymo expanding to Baltimore, Pittsburgh and St. Louis with manual test drives

Waymo has announced an exciting expansion of its robotaxi operations, with test drives set to kick off this week in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. This move marks an important step for the Alphabet-owned company as it broadens its reach across the United States, bringing its total operational cities to 26. According to spokesperson Ethan Teicher, the initial phase will involve manual driving tests, paving the way for future fully-autonomous ride services in these new locations. The company's aggressive expansion strategy comes on the heels of significant advancements made by competitors like Amazon and Tesla in the robotaxi sector. In recent months, Amazon's Zoox has begun offering complimentary rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco, while Tesla launched a ride-hailing service with human oversight in Austin and San Francisco earlier this year. Additionally, Waymo has plans to start manual test drives in Minneapolis, Tampa, and New Orleans soon, with Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando slated for service launches in 2026. Currently, Waymo's robotaxi service operates in major markets, including Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, delivering over 250,000 paid trips weekly. Since its launch in 2020, Waymo has successfully completed more than 10 million paid rides. This latest expansion signals the company's growing confidence that its technology is ready to adapt to a variety of weather conditions, including those found in colder climates.