As Phoenix continues to grow its transportation system — from light rail and buses to scooters and electric bikes — the mayor recently recognized a company that has led to global attention for the city.

It’s a big move for the robotaxi company, especially if they want to cut down on trip times amid competition with Uber and other human-powered services. The company said that a 17 mile trip from Santa Monica Pier to the Broad museum utilizing Interstate 10 would be 50 percent faster than local roads.

The self-driving taxi company Waymo launched in Los Angeles in November, bringing roughly 100 autonomous vehicles to neighborhoods from Santa Monica to West Hollywood.

Alphabet-owned Waymo plans to test its autonomous taxis in cities including Las Vegas and San Diego this year.

Waymo is sending autonomous vehicles to 10 new cities in 2025, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego, the company shared exclusively with The Verge.

Waymo said it is launching fully driverless robotaxi rides for employees in Atlanta, an important step before the company opens the service up to members

Waymo, the self-driving division of Google parent Alphabet, announced Wednesday it plans to bring its autonomous taxis in San Diego this year.

Waymo robotaxis have become a common sight on Los Angeles surface streets. Now those driverless vehicles are heading to the city's network of freeways.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved Waymo's autonomous vehicle program in Los Angeles in March 2024. The service was expanded to the public in November. Aside from Los Angeles, the company also has driverless cars in San Francisco and Phoenix, with plans to expand to Austin, Atlanta and Miami.

The vehicles Waymo receives from Geely, it says, are “base vehicles,” stripped of telematics systems and any other technology that would allow the vehicle to communicate with, or send data back to, its manufacturer. Only “authorized personnel” install Waymo's self-driving technology into the cars after they’re delivered to the United States.

Waymo is a ride-hailing service that provides passengers with self-driving car rides. The company presently operates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Iris Salem is a digital producer at ...

A more favorable federal regulatory and legislative environment may help propel the growth of driverless ride-hailing vehicles in the United States.