Waymo expands Austin service area
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A Waymo autonomous taxi, right, and a vehicle Tesla is using for robotaxi testing purposes in Austin in June. Photo: Eli Hartman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Autonomous vehicle maker Waymo and its rideshare partner Uber are expanding their Austin service area, the companies announced Thursday.
Why it matters: Coming just days after Tesla announced a service expansion in Austin, the move is a window into the broader jousting going on as companies try to prove themselves to investors and grab customers in the early days of AV ride-hailing.
Zoom in: Starting Thursday, Uber riders can take fully autonomous rides across 90 square miles of the city, including, neighborhoods like Crestview, Windsor Park and Sunset Valley — as well as to destinations like The Domain and McKinney Falls State Park.
- The companies' service area previously was 37 square miles.
- The service is open to the general public, 24/7.
By the numbers: There are more than 100 Waymo vehicles on Uber in Austin, "and that number will continually grow to hundreds over time," Waymo officials said in a press release.
- The company says it has logged 100 million fully autonomous miles driven without a human behind the wheel as it expands to new cities like Atlanta.
What they're saying: "The service with our partners at Uber is healthy, and we are ready for more Austinites to experience the magic of fully autonomous driving," Shweta Shrivastava, senior director of product management at Waymo, said.
The intrigue: Earlier this week, Tesla announced an expansion to its limited robotaxi service in Austin, first launched in June and is not available to the general public.
Between the lines: Tesla, which previously operated robotaxis in a band around South Congress, announced its phallus-shaped expansion through its robotaxi account on X, CEO Elon Musk's social media platform.
- "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," per the account.
- The new Tesla robotaxi service area is still narrower than Waymo's previous service area.
Zoom out: City officials list six "known" AV operators in Austin, including Amazon's Zoox, Volkswagen's ADMT and Hyundai's Motional.