Waymo Doubles Paid Rides Amid Autonomous Vehicle Expansion

Alphabet's Waymo has doubled its paid robotaxi rides to 100,000 per week within three months, as it extends service areas and includes more customers. The company, which has a fleet of 700 vehicles, expanded operations in San Francisco, metro Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Competition from Tesla, GM's Cruise, Amazon's Zoox, and China's WeRide is expected to heighten.

Alphabet's autonomous ride-hailing subsidiary, Waymo, announced a significant milestone Tuesday: doubling its paid rides to 100,000 per week in just over three months. This surge follows an expansion in service areas and greater accessibility for riders.

With a fleet of about 700 vehicles, Waymo has become the only U.S. company operating uncrewed robotaxis that collect fares. The service was opened to all in San Francisco in June, also extending its reach to metro Phoenix and parts of Los Angeles. Chief Product Officer Saswat Panigrahi emphasized the strategic and cost-optimized growth of the service, noting the increasing acceptance and utilization of autonomous vehicles.

As Waymo scales, competition from Tesla, GM's Cruise, Amazon's Zoox, and China's WeRide is poised to increase. Tesla's Elon Musk is set to reveal plans for his robotaxi product, Cruise is recovering from earlier setbacks, and Zoox and WeRide are ramping up their testing and valuation efforts respectively.

(With inputs from agencies.)