Home » Waymo by City: Where It Runs, Who Can Ride and What It Costs (November 2026)

Waymo by City: Where It Runs, Who Can Ride and What It Costs (November 2026)

  • Open to anyone: 13 metro areas, from Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area to Dallas, Houston and Tampa.
  • By invitation: Denver and Las Vegas, where Waymo is adding riders in waves.
  • Employees only: Detroit, since October 6.
  • Planned or in testing: more than a dozen other cities, plus Tokyo, London, Toronto and Munich.

Waymo now runs driverless rides in 15 US metro areas, according to two third-party trackers. Each of those Waymo cities has its own rules, its own service map and sometimes its own booking app. This guide pulls the picture together as of November 4, 2026, and links to our full coverage of each launch. Waymo changes its rollout often, so treat the table as a snapshot and confirm in the app before you plan a trip.

Waymo cities at a glance

City Status Where you book Our coverage
Phoenix Open to all Waymo app Ojai vehicle rollout
San Francisco Bay Area Open to all Waymo app Transit Rewards
Los Angeles Open to all Waymo app Ojai vehicle rollout
Austin Open to all Uber app Freeway rides
Atlanta Open to all Uber app Not yet covered
Dallas Open to all (since Aug 4) Waymo app Texas fleet growth
Houston Open to all (since Aug 20) Waymo app Houston waitlist ends
San Antonio Open to all (since Oct 14) Waymo app Open to everyone, flood fix
San Diego Open to all (since Oct 14) Waymo app San Diego launch
Tampa Open to all (since Oct 14) Waymo app Tampa launch
Miami and Orlando Open to all Waymo app Not yet covered
Nashville Open to all Waymo app or Lyft app Lyft matching, teen accounts
Denver By invitation Waymo app Denver launch
Las Vegas By invitation Waymo app Las Vegas launch
Detroit Employees only Not available Detroit testing

Source: Robotaxi Atlas (page dated Oct 13, 2026) and The Chargeport robotaxi tracker (checked Oct 25 to 26, 2026). The two trackers disagree on a few dates, and one of them lists Las Vegas as open. Waymo’s own Help Center, as cited by the tracker, shows Las Vegas as invitation-only, so we use that.

Beyond the US, Waymo is testing in London and Tokyo, and has announced Toronto and Munich. Our reports: Tokyo targets 2027, Munich plans late 2027, and Toronto’s accessibility angle.

How do you actually get a ride?

In most cities you download the Waymo app, add a payment method and request a trip, much as you would with any ride-hailing service. Austin and Atlanta are the exceptions: Waymo runs there through Uber, so you book in the Uber app. In Nashville you can use either the Waymo app or Lyft, and Lyft riders can decline a Waymo match.

In Denver and Las Vegas you sign up in the app and wait for an invite, so being inside the map does not guarantee a ride today. Both trackers also describe a paid membership called Waymo Premier at $29.99 a month, which is invite-only.

Airports vary. The trackers report service at Phoenix Sky Harbor, San Jose and, since the October 14 change, San Antonio International. San Francisco and Las Vegas airports are described as limited, and Austin, Orlando and Los Angeles’ LAX are not served. Check the app for the current pickup spot.

What does a Waymo ride cost?

Waymo does not publish a fixed fare table. The trackers say a fare combines a minimum price with distance and time charges and can shift with demand, and the app shows an estimate before you book. A few figures from our earlier reporting give a sense of scale:

  • San Antonio: a $3 base plus $2.25 a mile, with an average local trip near $20, according to CultureMap citing the fare tracker RideWise.
  • National average: $19.69 per ride in 2026, about 13% above Uber and 27% above Lyft, per RideWise as reported by the Colorado Sun. That is a national figure, not a quote for your city. We covered it in our Denver launch report.
  • Bay Area credit: Waymo Cash worth $2.85 when you pair a Waymo trip with a transit trip within two hours. See Transit Rewards.

What do the safety numbers show?

Two sources get quoted most. Waymo reports 94% fewer serious-injury-or-worse crashes than a human benchmark over 220.6 million driverless miles through March 2026. That is a company analysis, and we break it down in Waymo Safety Data: 220 Million Miles. The independent IIHS reported 68% fewer police-reportable crashes over about 50 million miles from 2021 to 2024, using a smaller and older data set. See our San Diego safety research piece.

Both studies cover cities Waymo has run for years, and our Denver reporting notes that winter conditions are not represented. City-specific results for newer markets are thin. Waymo also paused San Antonio rides after a flood swept an empty car into a creek, and resumed on September 17 after a software change. Our flood update explains what changed and what remains unproven.

Where the service still falls short

  • Power wheelchair users. Waymo told a Washington, D.C. council committee in July that it had not found an electric vehicle platform that is both fully wheelchair accessible and compatible with its driving system. Blind and low-vision riders with guide dogs can ride, but riders who cannot transfer to a regular seat cannot yet.
  • Service areas are partial. A city on the list does not mean the whole metro area is covered.
  • Prices are not fixed. You see the fare only after you enter a trip.
  • Local friction remains. San Diego’s transit board voted to oppose the expansion without local oversight, and taxi drivers’ groups have objected. California’s new law adds rules for outages and emergency scenes, as we explain in our SB 1246 report.

Why It Matters to You

If you live in one of the 13 open cities and don’t own a car, or no longer drive at night, you can use a driverless ride today without an invitation. Older adults and blind or low-vision riders are the groups advocates mention most. Teens aged 13 to 17 can ride alone in Nashville with a parent-linked account. In Denver and Las Vegas, expect to wait for an invitation. Anywhere else, there is nothing to book yet.

Before your first ride, open the app, enter a real trip and read the fare estimate. That one check tells you more than any guide can.

Sources

Related Reading