EVwire brief: Waymo has opened its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to the general public in Miami and Orlando, removing its prior waitlist after onboarding 150,000 riders. Riders can now download the Waymo app and request driverless trips immediately.
The company is also beginning to introduce highway driving in Miami. Waymo reports its system is involved in 92% fewer crashes causing serious or fatal injuries compared to human drivers in similar conditions.
Waymo announced its new expansion on X:
Context
The move marks a transition from limited early access to full public deployment across two major Florida markets. Waymo had initially restricted access to a controlled group of riders before expanding availability based on real-world performance and testing.
Waymo Chief Product Officer (CPO) Saswat Panigrahi shared this comment on X:
“The momentum we’re seeing in Florida is incredible. After welcoming over 150k riders from our interest list in Miami and Orlando, we are opening @Waymo to everyone in both cities today. Can’t wait for more of you to experience it!”
In Miami, the service is beginning to incorporate highway driving, expanding route efficiency across the city. This builds on existing deployments in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, where highway operations are already active.
In Orlando, the service connects multiple residential and commercial corridors, supporting both local and visitor mobility. Waymo said deployments in both cities are based on region-specific validation, including testing under local weather conditions such as heavy rainfall.
A Waymo robotaxi driving autonomously on a Miami freeway (Source)
Waymo’s Florida expansion follows a phased rollout model used in other cities: early access → operational validation → full public launch. The company said its autonomous system is designed to scale across environments while maintaining consistent safety performance.
The transition to full public access in Miami and Orlando adds to Waymo’s growing U.S. footprint, where it already operates across multiple major metros with fully driverless service. These include key cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles in CA and Phoenix, AZ.
We love the nascent robotaxi market! If autonomous ride-hailing interests you, be sure to check out our Robotaxi Report, which we publish biweekly. We’ve already released three issues so far, and more are coming!
Source: Waymo
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