Waymo expands robotaxi push in Pittsburgh
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A Waymo taxi outside of Google's headquarters in California. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Robotaxi service Waymo has the green light to test autonomously in Pittsburgh with a licensed specialist behind the wheel, but the cars are still in manual mode for now.
Why it matters: The certification puts Waymo one step closer to launching fully driverless taxis here.
Context: Pennsylvania law requires a PennDOT permit to operate autonomous vehicles, with or without a safety driver in the car. Waymo previously held certification only in Philadelphia but has now secured approval for Pittsburgh, the company confirmed to Axios on Tuesday.
Zoom in: Waymo has been testing its vehicles manually in Pittsburgh since announcing its expansion here late last year.
- Pittsburghers have since spotted the cars throughout Downtown, the East End, and the South Hills. Waymo also shares office space with Google in Bakery Square.
Yes, but: No companies operate fully driverless vehicles on public roads in Pennsylvania, per PennDOT, and Waymo would need additional approval to do so.
The big picture: Waymo is accelerating its rollout of robotaxis in the U.S. as self-driving technology expands across America.
- Armed with $16 billion in fresh capital from parent Alphabet and others, Waymo is quickly extending its lead over other players like Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox, which are still mostly in testing mode.
By the numbers: Now in 10 cities, Waymo has doubled the number of markets it serves in a matter of months.
- It's laying the groundwork for service in at least 20 cities, and is on track to provide more than 1 million driverless rides per week nationwide by the end of the year.
Still, high operational costs, regulatory hurdles, and public scrutiny could constrain network growth.
What's next: The company aims to launch fully driverless rideshares in Pittsburgh and will notify the public before doing so, said Ethan Teicher, a spokesperson for Waymo, though the company did not specify how soon that could happen.
- "People in Pittsburgh will continue to see Waymo vehicles operating with trained professionals behind the wheel as we make progress towards launching in the city," he said.