Self-driving Waymo taxis expanding to Miami

Catch up quick: Miami has long been a testing ground for self-driving vehicles — thanks to the city's tropical weather and unpredictable driving conditions.

• Companies like Ford, Lyft and, most recently, Amazon-owned Zoox have tested their vehicles on our streets.

The latest: Waymo says it will begin testing in early 2025, with human drivers zipping around Miami in electric Jaguar I-PACEs to acquaint the cars with the roads.

• The goal is to ramp up to full autonomous driving over the next year before opening its self-driving service in 2026 through the Waymo One app, a spokesperson tells Axios.
• "We will ramp up responsibly and with safety in mind every step of the way."

Friction point: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an investigation into Waymo in May after reports of nearly two dozen collisions and traffic infractions.

• No injuries were reported.

The other side: Waymo says that compared to the average human-driven car, its self-driving cars — which have logged more than 25 million solo miles — are involved in far fewer injury-causing collisions.