Waymo is accelerating its rollout of robotaxis in the U.S., adding four new cities in Texas and Florida this week as self-driving technology begins to penetrate mainstream America.

Why it matters: 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 — including here in Atlanta.

By the numbers: The average Waymo in Atlanta and Austin has "been busier than 99% of our drivers in terms of completed trips per day," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during an August 2025 earnings call.

• A significant number of Uber users are also cancelling hailed rides with human drivers in hope of pairing with an available Waymo, Business Insider reported.

Zoom out: 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 one million driverless rides per week by the end of the year.

What we're watching: Waymo's robotaxis are adapting quickly to new markets, but basic operational challenges — such as charging and maintenance — could constrain network growth.

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A Waymo robotaxi incident outside a California elementary school in January suggests an AI brain would react faster than a human, but it's not that simple.

The big picture: This incident fits into a much larger debate about whether autonomous vehicles can match — or exceed — the safety of human drivers.

• People fear self-driving cars, yet nearly 40,000 people are killed each year in traffic accidents involving human drivers.
• The answer to that question is crucial to winning the public's trust as robotaxis spread quickly across America.

Catch up quick: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating after a Waymo robotaxi struck a child who ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV.

• Police said first responders evaluated the student, with her parent present, and did not report any injuries.

The intrigue: Waymo claims its driverless vehicle behaved as expected, slamming the brakes as soon as it detected the child, slowing from 17 mph to under 6 mph before making contact.

• A "fully attentive human driver" in the same situation would have hit the child at approximately 14 mph, according to Waymo's computer modeling.
• "This significant reduction in impact speed and severity is a demonstration of the material safety benefit of the Waymo Driver, " the company wrote in a Jan. 28 blog post.

Reality check: Reacting quickly isn't the only way to avoid crashes, safety experts tell Axios. Context, judgment and driving experience matter, too.

• Young drivers have quicker reflexes, for example — but old drivers have much better safety records, notes AV safety expert Philip Koopman, emeritus professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
• A careful, competent human driver would have avoided a panic stop in the first place by adjusting their driving behavior amid the chaos of school drop-off — or taking a different route altogether, he argued.

What we're watching: This past October, NHSTA opened an investigation after a Waymo in Atlanta was recorded illegally passing a school bus.

• In a statement to 11 Alive at the time, an Uber spokesperson said the company works with federal officials and pointed to data showing the autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers.
• The case remains open, an agency spokesperson told Axios.

Go deeper.

What do Atlanta Police do when a Waymo stalls on the road or slowly rolls into a closed area near a crime scene, which happened earlier this month on Cheshire Bridge Road?

• There's a standard operating procedure for that.

Zoom in: The Atlanta Police Department's 6-page SOP outlines the steps officers should take if they need to pull over, disable or move stalled, damaged or malfunctioning Waymo vehicles.

• According to the document, Waymo cars are designed to pull over and safely stop — and then roll down the car's windows and unlock the doors — for police or emergency vehicles using flashing lights behind the car.
• The car will connect the police officer with a Waymo representative, who can then dispatch someone to pick up the vehicle if necessary.

Officers who close a road for a significant amount of time because of a crime — like the Cheshire Bridge Road incident — should request a geofence be placed around the area or park a patrol vehicle to prevent cars from entering.

• "Waymo may not be able to recognize crime scene tape across the roadway."

Fun fact: "The court system is currently unable to process traffic citations for [autonomous vehicles] with no human operator," the SOP says.

• "If the vehicle violates a traffic law, where a citation would be warranted, the officer must write a report providing the details surrounding the incident and the law that was violated."

Read the SOP

Members of your Axios Atlanta team have each ridden in one of the company's self-driving cars.

Zoom in: The Waymo team set Thomas up on a preplanned ride starting at Ponce City Market and cruising through Old Fourth Ward, taking roughly 15 minutes.

Their reviews: Thomas sat in the right back seat as the electric Jaguar SUV (Waymo's standard car for Atlanta and other cities) navigated around intersections, pedestrians and stopped vehicles.

• It was a smooth and surprisingly human-like ride.

Yes, but: That's not to say we haven't experienced some abrupt turns, indecisive lane changes and the like.

Here are a few tips:

✅ Do's:

• Tap the tablet: The in-car screen allows passengers to control music, climate and ride functions.
• Wear your seatbelt. It's the right call in every ride ... but the Waymo won't start moving until you do buckle up.
• Try out the back right seat. You get a good view of the steering wheel spinning to make turns (if that sight doesn't freak you out).

❌ Don'ts

• Don't sit in the driver's seat. Feel free to sit shotgun, however.
• Don't touch the steering wheel or other driving controls. "Somebody from rider support will get on and say, 'Please don't do that,'" Waymo's Ethan Teicher told Thomas.
• Don't smoke or vape in the car. You wouldn't do that with a human behind the wheel, would you?
• Don't expect the vehicle to speed. The vehicle follows the rules of the road and does not mimic other drivers' behaviors.