Waymo

A Waymo made the unfortunate decision to drive on light rail tracks in Phoenix with a passenger inside while a train was approaching. The passenger made the right call to abandon the robotaxis, even if it meant getting out in the middle of traffic. Valley Metro, which oversees light rail service, says there were no significant delays as a result of the incident. This comes a few weeks after a blackout caused a massive Waymo traffic jam in San Francisco.

Waymo has a new name for its Zeekr-produced autonomous minivans that are set to roll out this year. Ojai, named for the city northwest of Los Angeles, was chosen because most American consumers aren’t familiar with the Geely-owned Zeekr brand, according to InsideEVs. That may be true, but try saying “Waymo Ojai” five times really fast.

In addition to an update for its power outage problem, Waymo is also working on an AI Ride Assistant. That’s according to security researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who found details on the bot’s system prompt from Waymo’s mobile app code.

When a substation fire cut off electricity across the city, Waymo SUVs stuck at malfunctioning stoplights quickly became another headache, and now the company is explaining it as an issue of too many remote operator assistance requests:

The robotaxi operator had a pretty good year, one dead bodega cat notwithstanding. As such, its looking to extend its streak by raising $15 billion on a $100 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. The money would help fuel its plans to expand to 20 new cities in 2026, including London and Tokyo.

That’s triple the number of fares it did in 2024, the company said today. Assuming that the average Waymo ride costs $20.43, that could mean in excess of $286 million in revenue for the company. Of course, some of that money is going toward taxes and other ride-hailing fees. Still, that’s an impressive number for a company that only operates in five cities in the US — and soon to grow to 20 cities internationally. Waymo also says it’s now on track to do 20 million lifetime trips by the end of the year.

To help address the issue of its robotaxis passing stopped school buses, Waymo plans to file a voluntary software recall with the NHTSA, Mauricio Peña, Waymo’s chief safety officer, says in a statement to The Verge.

Waymo is going to start manually testing its vehicles in four new US cities: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. Waymo plans to start by deploying manually driven vehicles, then fully autonomous ones, followed by select passenger trips, and finally, a public robotaxi service. (The company is already is driving autonomously with a safety driver in Philly.) Waymo has signaled it hopes to launch in over 20 cities in the coming years. Of course, not every city is welcoming the robotaxis with open arms.

I’ve said this before, but as Waymo continues to scale and grow, we’re going to see more of this kind of stuff. Last month, it was a beloved neighborhood cat who was killed after running underneath a Waymo in San Francisco. This week, one of its robotaxis wandered into the middle of a police arrest in LA. Waymo confirms its car briefly intruded on a police standoff while ferrying a passenger, but that it cleared the scene in 15 seconds.

Earlier this week, Waymo announced that it would soon be operating fully driverless vehicles in five new cities: Miami, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and Orlando. Today, they’re adding three new cities to the mix: Minneapolis, Tampa, and New Orleans. The company plans to start by deploying manually driven vehicles, then fully autonomous ones, followed by select passenger trips, and finally, a public robotaxi service. The vehicles will be Waymo’s fifth-generation Jaguar SUVs, with the option to add sixth-gen Zeekr and Hyundai vehicles in the future if the company deems fit.

The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company announced plans to start operating fully autonomous vehicles in five new cities: Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. Only employees and “friends and family” will be able to take trips initially, but Waymo expects to let public customers use its robotaxis sometime in 2026. Add these to the cities the growing list of markets where Waymo says it expects to launch, including San Diego, Boston, New York City, Washington, DC, Denver, Detroit, Seattle, London, and Tokyo.

Waymo said it would make a donation to a local animal rights group after one of its robotaxis killed a beloved bodega cat named KitKat, KRON4 reports. According to Waymo, the cat darted under the vehicle while it was pulling away from picking up a passenger. But according to a 311 complain, the robotaxi did not slow down, swerve, or attempt to avoid the cat. This isn’t the first furry friend to perish under a Waymo — a small dog was killed in 2023. (Waymo said the collision was unavoidable.)

It’s the latest streaming music channel you can link to while riding in a Waymo robotaxi, after Spotify and iHeart. And the absence of a human driver means you can play all your guilty pleasure tracks without fear of judgement. What song do will you be blasting next?

After months of testing, the company’s autonomous Zeekr minivans will be deployed in the Mile High City this fall. Waymo will use a mixed fleet of Jaguar I-Pace with the 5th-gen hardware and Zeekr RTs with 6th-gen hardware. I remain impressed that Waymo is able to clear all the tariffs and restrictions on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

We may start to see Waymo robotaxis in a lot more cities in the coming months, the company’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said on Hard Fork this week:

Mayor Eric Adams announced that the DOT has granted Waymo a permit to test up to eight autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn with a safety driver at the wheel. Waymo aims to eventually operate its robotaxis without safety drivers, which NYC currently prohibits.

A new Spotify integration will let you connect your account to Waymo, allowing you to play your favorite tunes while the robotaxi takes you to your destination. Waymo also offers the ability to cast music, as well as listen to a selection of curated radio stations.

We here at The Verge remain committed to our mission to bring you all relevant windshield wiper news. So it is with great pleasure that I point you to this MotorTrend piece about Waymo’s new Zeekr-made robotaxi, and its plethora of tiny windshield wipers. Eight to be exact: four on the roof, and one at the corner above each wheel. (There are also two regular sized wipers, but who cares about that?) These diminutive wipers are meant to keep the various sensors clean and free of road grime. I remember first encountering Waymo’s tiny lidar wipers back in 2019. I’m glad to see that they’re still in the game, and still itty bitty.

In Dallas, Waymo’s fleet will be managed through “a new strategic, multi-year partnership with Avis Budget Group,” Waymo says.