Uber is rolling out self-driving ride-hailing services in Austin, Texas, starting Tuesday, through a partnership with Waymo.
Passengers using Uber’s app may now be picked up by Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, marking another step in the expansion of driverless transportation.
Waymo, originally a secret project within Google, has been running self-driving rides in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The company plans to expand into Atlanta later this year as part of its Uber collaboration, followed by Miami in 2026.
Passengers in Austin can’t directly request a Waymo robotaxi, but they can increase their chances by enabling the autonomous vehicle preference in Uber’s settings. If a self-driving car is dispatched, Uber will notify the rider and offer the option to switch to a human-driven vehicle.
Waymo’s fleet has been operating safely without major incidents, in contrast to General Motors’ Cruise, which had its California license revoked in 2023 after a robotaxi dragged an injured pedestrian. Uber had previously partnered with Cruise before GM suspended its operations.
With this launch, Uber and Waymo aim to make autonomous ride-hailing more mainstream, offering passengers a glimpse into the future of transportation.