Waymo is accelerating its rollout of robotaxis and we are on its list.

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.

Driving the news: Waymo started testing its driverless cars, but with drivers, here in January, with the goal of launching sometime this year.

Yes, but: There has been some opposition. The MTS board voted in January to ask the state government for local control of whether autonomous vehicles are allowed.

• It also sent letters of protest to the California Public Utilities Commission and California Department of Motor Vehicles and asked to ban Waymos at our airport.
• A state lawmaker also introduced a bill requiring extra protections.

Zoom out: Waymo added four new cities in Texas and Florida last month as self-driving technology begins to penetrate mainstream America.

• The service will start slowly, with riders invited on a rolling basis until Waymo adds more cars to its fleet and scales up necessary operations like vehicle charging, service and maintenance.
• By later this year, it will be more widely available, Waymo says.

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 one million driverless rides per week by the end of the year.
• It has about 3,000 robotaxis deployed nationwide, more than one-third of them in the San Francisco Bay area.

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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Misreading local politics could foil Waymo's ambitious growth plans, erasing the giant lead it has over competitors.

State of play: While self-driving cars are permitted in about half the country, the laws would have to be changed in places like Washington, D.C., and New York, where a human operator is still required behind the wheel.

• In other states, the law is silent on driverless cars, which means it's open to interpretation — and debate.
• More worrisome for Waymo, potentially: City leaders in some places, including Boston and Seattle, are proposing new ordinances that would prohibit autonomous vehicles.

Research from UC San Diego found people are more worried about job loss from robotaxis than safety.

• 85% said driverless cars would mean unemployment for ridesharing and delivery drivers.
• "While the hardware is improving and maturing, the public receptivity to this technology is actually anchored by economic and social anxieties, rather than just safety concerns," lead author Behram Wali told Axios.

The intrigue: Waymo replaced its global head of public policy last year to deal with the mounting headwinds.

• Justin Kintz previously led the policy team at Uber during its early growth period, when the ride-hailing network was unwelcome just about everywhere.
• At Waymo, he will likely draw on that experience to try to push local legislation that is more favorable toward robotaxis.

What they're saying: "The biggest hurdle Waymo faces is not understanding local politics," says AV policy expert Grayson Brulte, founder and CEO of The Road to Autonomy, a strategic advisory firm.

• "They're going into markets where the policy is not ready yet," he said.
• It can take years to pass new legislation in many states, which could delay Waymo's plans.

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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.

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Axios Miami's Martin Vassolo tested one of the company's self-driving cars earlier this year in Little Havana.

His experience: The Waymo team set him up on a preplanned ride starting near Macondo Coffee Roasters on Calle Ocho and ending up at Coral Gate Park, taking about 30 minutes round-trip.

His review: It was a smooth and surprisingly human-like ride.

• He sat in the back seat as the electric Jaguar SUV (Waymo's standard car for Miami) navigated around intersections, pedestrians and stopped vehicles.
• What most surprised him — other than the sight of a steering wheel moving on its own — was how the car's AI brain reacted to obstacles in the road with assertive fluidity.

At another tricky intersection — one without a traffic light — the Waymo slowly eased forward to check for cars before taking a left turn across four lanes of traffic.

✅ 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 Axios.
• 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.