Waymo’s skyrocketing ridership in one chart

Waymo is making significant strides in the realm of robotaxi services, now offering an impressive 500,000 paid rides each week across ten U.S. cities, as announced by the company on social media. This remarkable milestone highlights the rapid commercial growth of the Alphabet-owned enterprise. The real story lies in Waymo’s accelerated growth rate. In just under two years, the average number of weekly paid rides has soared from 50,000 in May 2024 to a staggering 500,000 today. This growth is mirrored by the company's expansion from its original markets—Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles—to additional cities like Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando, all added within the last year. Waymo's fleet of robotaxis has also expanded, although the precise numbers have been closely guarded. According to data submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in December 2025, the company operated 3,067 robotaxis equipped with its fifth-generation self-driving technology. This figure has remained consistent, even as the company prepares to introduce its sixth-generation system. The new technology will debut on the Zeekr minivan and Hyundai Ioniq 5. The steady fleet size, combined with the rising number of paid rides, suggests that Waymo is enhancing the efficiency of each robotaxi. This utilization is crucial, as idle vehicles contribute to congestion and do not generate revenue. However, this growth comes with its own set of hurdles. Waymo has faced increased scrutiny from both the public and regulatory bodies. Investigations by the NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board are underway regarding reports of illegal actions by Waymo's robotaxis near school buses. Additionally, city officials in San Francisco have expressed concerns about the company's management of robotaxis that become immobilized, noting instances where police and firefighters have been called to assist. Despite these challenges, Waymo's ridership remains a fraction of Uber's extensive ride-hailing operations, which completed approximately 13.5 billion trips in 2025. While Uber's mobility services surpassed one million trips per hour in an earnings call, Waymo is still a distance away from competing on that level. Nevertheless, as each month passes, Waymo's lead in the robotaxi sector continues to grow. A host of companies are also entering the robotaxi market, although many have not yet launched a fully autonomous, fee-based service. Chinese firms like Pony.ai and WeRide have begun charging for robotaxi rides, but they do not operate within the U.S. Tesla has initiated a paid robotaxi service in Austin, but lacks the necessary permits for a fully autonomous service in California. Other competitors, including Avride, Motional, and Zoox, are aiming to roll out paid services by year’s end, highlighting the competitive landscape that Waymo must navigate moving forward.