The driverless revolution is beginning.
Uber and Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, have begun offering autonomous taxi rides to the public in Atlanta as part of their growing partnership. This marks another step in the expansion of Waymo’s robotaxi service, which integrates its self-driving technology into electric Jaguar I-PACE SUVs. These rides, bookable through the Uber app, currently operate within a 65-square-mile area of Atlanta, avoiding highways and the city’s airport.
The collaboration between Uber and Waymo was previously announced to include both Atlanta and Austin, Texas. The service launched in Austin earlier this year, preceding Tesla’s limited rollout of its own autonomous ride-hailing service in the same city. Tesla’s version features its Model Y vehicles using in-house driver-assistance tech, but requires a human safety monitor in the front passenger seat and only runs during the day within a designated zone.
Waymo’s robotaxis stand apart from Tesla’s by operating fully driverless and relying on an array of lidar and radar sensors for navigation—technologies that Tesla currently does not utilize. Waymo’s autonomous vehicles also operate without onboard human oversight, reflecting a more advanced deployment of driverless technology compared to many competitors.
In Atlanta and Austin, the Waymo rides can only be accessed through the Uber app, whereas riders in San Francisco and Los Angeles use Waymo’s dedicated Waymo One app. For the Atlanta launch, Waymo has deployed dozens of vehicles, adding to a national fleet of over 1,500 autonomous cars.
The partnership focuses exclusively on passenger transport and does not extend to Uber Eats delivery services. Following the announcement, Uber’s stock saw a notable rise of 7.5%, continuing its strong performance this year with an overall gain of more than 50%, outpacing broader market growth.
