Waymo Robotaxi Expansion Passes 1,400 Square Miles in 11 Cities

A footprint bigger than a state

In mid-May, Waymo said its driverless ride-hailing service would grow to more than 1,400 square miles across 11 U.S. cities. The company pointed out that this is more ground than the whole state of Rhode Island.1112 Most of the growth happened inside cities where Waymo already operated, not in new markets. The first wave was in Miami, and Austin, Atlanta, Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area were next.1112 Waymo timed the expansion for the FIFA World Cup, since several of its cities were hosting matches.1214

Five months later, the May announcement looks like the start of a much larger push. Since then Waymo has won approval to operate across most of California, opened in more metro areas, and picked up more attention from federal and local regulators than ever before. The coverage points to one conclusion: Waymo's main constraint is no longer whether its software works. It is how quickly regulators, depots and public trust can keep pace.

The numbers don't quite match

Reports agree on the headline figure but not on the details. Electrek estimated Waymo's coverage at about 1,100 square miles in April 2026. On that basis, the jump to more than 1,400 adds roughly 300 square miles, an increase of about 27%. That is more than the "over 20%" in many headlines.11 Electrek's April estimates by city included about 315 square miles in Phoenix, 260 in the Bay Area, 120 in Los Angeles and 60 each in Miami, Orlando and San Antonio.11

The Rhode Island comparison also depends on the measurement. Electrek used about 1,034 square miles, while Gizmodo used roughly 1,200, which is why Gizmodo said Waymo would "soon" be larger than the state.1112 Lower-tier coverage made bigger mistakes. One outlet put "14,000 square miles" in its headline even though its own article said 1,400.17 Another framed the expansion as mainly about Phoenix and said Waymo had logged 20 million autonomous miles.16 Better-sourced reports describe a growth plan led by Miami and say the 20-million figure counts trips, not miles.1112 For readers, the takeaway is that Waymo announces service areas, but outside counts of them are estimates that vary.

Growing denser before growing wider

The pattern is the most revealing part. Electrek read the decision to grow inside existing markets as a sign that the business works well enough to justify serving more riders where operations are already set up.11 That reading fits with what came after. Nashville added service at its international airport in October, making it the fifth airport Waymo serves after Phoenix Sky Harbor, San José Mineta, San Francisco International and San Antonio.10 Waymo has also opened teen accounts in Nashville and Phoenix. It says more will follow in markets where its operations are mature and local rules allow it.6 In the Bay Area, it started a transit rewards program that credits riders who connect to buses and trains. The program casts Waymo as a partner to public transit rather than a rival.5

Each of these moves gets more out of the same map: more rider types, more trip purposes and more airport links. The company has said its goal is 1 million paid rides a week by the end of 2026.1119 Several reports put weekly volume at about 500,000 rides as of spring.1925 Doubling that in a few quarters would take both a bigger map and heavier use of it.

Then came the new cities

The May push was followed by a burst of new markets. Waymo opened fully driverless public rides in Denver, San Diego and Tampa on September 1. One report said that raised its count of paid-service cities from 11 to 14, with a fleet of more than 4,000 vehicles.19 Las Vegas paid service began on September 14 under a Nevada permit, through rolling invitations across about 24 square miles.21 Some trackers now count 15 cities, and a recent headline mentioned 20. These numbers differ mainly in whether they count invite-only service, and one outlet said the total ranges from about 10 to 14 metros depending on that choice.71829

Money is clearly paying for this. Waymo raised $16 billion in February at a $126 billion valuation, the largest investment ever in an autonomous-vehicle company.11 TechCrunch has reported a $5 billion loan from Blackstone and PIMCO.18 The hardware is changing too. The sixth-generation Ojai, built on a Zeekr platform, opened to all riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix in August.23 MoffettNathanson has projected that about 5,000 to 5,100 Ojai units could be imported by year-end.719

California opens the gate

The biggest regulatory step was in California. On August 14, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved Waymo's request to run paid driverless service across 18 counties, from Sonoma to San Diego. The approval includes new markets in Sacramento and San Diego.13 It allows operation at all speed limits, on freeways and rural roads, day and night, and in rain and fog. The main exception is widespread snow or ice.13 The approval did not come quickly. The request was filed in January, put on hold for review, and amended in May to cover unaccompanied minors and procedures for service disruptions such as a December power outage in San Francisco.13 Public hearings earlier in the year heard concerns about cars stalling during network outages, traffic disruption and lost driver jobs.9

Waymo said the rollout would be "gradual and guided by our safety framework." That matters because state approval is not the same as deployment. Depots, charging and remote support all have to be in place first.13 One report noted that the infrastructure behind a new city can take more than three years to build. Its example was Waymo's San Francisco depot, which has 159 charging spaces.19

Federal scrutiny is tightening, not loosening

At the federal level the picture points two ways. Under Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the Department of Transportation has pushed for national performance standards for autonomous vehicles. It withdrew the Biden-era AV STEP framework, and NHTSA granted Zoox the first commercial exemption for a robotaxi without a steering wheel.21 The SELF DRIVE Act, which would set a national framework, is still pending in Congress.21 Waymo told Senate lawmakers it wants uniform national rules and warned that heavy regulation could hand the market to Chinese competitors.22

Oversight of Waymo itself, though, has become more frequent. The same week as the May expansion, Waymo recalled 3,791 robotaxis after one drove into a flooded road in San Antonio. It fixed the problem with an over-the-air software update.1512 In late May it paused public freeway rides and began restoring them on July 29, after software fixes for construction zones.21 One outlet counts that as Waymo's fourth recall in about two years.29 In July, NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison told AV developers to submit plans by July 31 to fix how their robotaxis interfere with emergency scenes. The directive was widely seen as aimed at Waymo, and no result has been made public.21 In October, NHTSA opened a new investigation into Waymo vehicles passing stopped school buses. That followed earlier inquiries and a January incident in which a Waymo struck a child near a Santa Monica school.2927

States and cities are adding their own rules. Since July 1, police in California have been able to issue notices to autonomous vehicles. In September, Governor Newsom signed SB 1246, which will require remote drivers to be located in the United States starting in 2028. California also passed a law in October that lets the state fine robotaxi companies for impeding emergency services.22 New York has gone the other way. Waymo's testing permits in New York City expired, and Governor Kathy Hochul dropped a plan for upstate testing after legislators would not back it.12 In Minneapolis, the city council voted to require human drivers in robotaxis, and Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed the measure.22

The Tesla contrast and what it hides

Much of the coverage measures Waymo against Tesla. A CPUC official said in March that Tesla holds a charter-party permit rather than authorization for an autonomous service.13 Texas registration data still shows Waymo ahead, with about 1,185 vehicles to Tesla's 739, and many of Tesla's cars use safety monitors.28 Tesla's regulatory problems, including an NHTSA review of how the Cybercab was certified, are real.2128

The comparison can hide a more important point. Waymo is now big enough that its edge cases are policy problems: school buses, flooded streets and fire scenes. An independent IIHS analysis found Waymo had 68% fewer police-reportable crashes per mile than human drivers.25 That is a strong record. But at more than 1,400 square miles and growing, a small rate of failures still produces a steady stream of incidents in the news. Waymo has shown it can scale. Whether it can scale faster than regulators lose patience will decide how much of the approved map gets served in 2027.