Waymo has announced that Washington, DC, will be its next location for launching a fully autonomous ridehailing service. The company, known for its self-driving technology, plans to introduce its Waymo One robotaxi service in the nation’s capital by 2026. However, before it can proceed, Waymo will need to navigate a legal hurdle-DC law currently prohibits fully autonomous vehicles from operating without a human safety driver behind the wheel.
At present, companies conducting autonomous vehicle testing in DC must ensure a human driver is present to take control if necessary. Tech advocates have been pushing for regulatory changes that would allow driverless vehicles to operate freely on the city’s streets. As of now, DC’s transportation department has not responded to requests for comment on potential legal adjustments.
Waymo’s vehicles, although still manually driven, have already been spotted in the city since last year. A product manager from the company indicated that Waymo has been focusing on areas such as Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, and Penn Quarter. While the company has yet to specify the exact service area for its upcoming launch, these neighborhoods could be among the first to experience driverless rides.
Launching a robotaxi service in DC presents a unique challenge, given the city’s status as the seat of the federal government. The federal government has remained largely hands-off in regulating autonomous vehicles, leaving states and cities to determine their own rules for deployment. Efforts to pass legislation that would significantly expand the number of autonomous vehicles on public roads have been stalled in Congress for over seven years due to disagreements over issues like safety regulations, liability concerns, and federal motor vehicle safety standard exemptions.
Beyond regulatory hurdles, DC has its own distinct transportation challenges. The city suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the United States, worsened by a growing population and aging infrastructure that has not kept pace with increasing demand. Waymo has not yet disclosed how many vehicles it plans to introduce to the city once operations begin.
Currently, Waymo provides fully driverless ridehailing services in multiple cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. It has also expanded into Austin through a partnership with Uber, with plans to extend the collaboration to Atlanta later this year. Additionally, the company is working on bringing its robotaxi services to Silicon Valley and Miami.
In Washington, DC, passengers will be able to request driverless rides through the Waymo One app, the company’s official ridehailing platform. Waymo currently completes around 200,000 trips per week through the app, offering a glimpse into how widely used its service has become in other cities.
DC has previously been a testing ground for autonomous vehicle technology. General Motors’ now-defunct subsidiary, Cruise, operated several autonomous vehicles there before shutting down operations. Ford-backed Argo AI also conducted self-driving tests in the district before the company ceased operations.
Waymo promotes its technology as a safer alternative to human-driven vehicles. The company has released data from insurance reports suggesting that its autonomous vehicles are involved in fewer crashes and cause less property damage and fewer bodily injuries compared to human-operated cars.
