Alphabet-owned Waymo is forging ahead with its autonomous ride-hailing ambitions, announcing Tuesday a significant expansion of its robotaxi service throughout California. The company has added 80 square miles to its operational footprint in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Silicon Valley—bringing its total commercial coverage in the state to over 250 square miles.
This expansion follows a turbulent period in Los Angeles, where several of Waymo’s self-driving Jaguar I-Pace vehicles were burned and vandalized during protests tied to Trump administration immigration raids. The incidents—captured in widely shared images of scorched vehicles—prompted the company to temporarily pull back its Los Angeles service and reduce availability nationwide as a precaution against further unrest.
Despite those disruptions, Waymo is now broadening its reach in key urban centers. In Los Angeles, its driverless vehicles will begin operating in new neighborhoods, including Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and the entirety of Sunset Boulevard. The expansion enables riders to travel between areas like Mid-City, Inglewood, and Westchester using major thoroughfares such as La Cienega and La Brea. Waymo now serves more than 120 square miles of Los Angeles County.
In Northern California, Waymo is adding robotaxi service in the Bay Area communities of Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, and Burlingame. In Silicon Valley, its presence now includes Palo Alto and Menlo Park. These expansions bolster the company’s already active service in downtown San Francisco and surrounding areas.
Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli confirmed that while the company is expanding geographically, it is still limiting operations in parts of downtown Los Angeles for safety reasons. He noted that service adjustments are ongoing and based on evolving local conditions, traffic patterns, special events, and community feedback.
The company’s overall growth trajectory remains strong. Since June 2024, Waymo reports a fivefold increase in weekly paid rides across its four active markets—San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin. Currently, Waymo facilitates more than 250,000 paid trips each week, a sign of accelerating public adoption of its fully autonomous vehicles.
Waymo operates more than 400 vehicles in the Los Angeles area and over 600 in the San Francisco Bay Area. All vehicles in the commercial fleet are driverless, powered by the company’s advanced AI systems and onboard sensors.
The company’s expansion reflects its strategy to cement autonomous vehicles as a permanent part of urban transportation, despite resistance from labor groups, city regulators, and safety advocates. Concerns remain about how these vehicles will perform in densely populated areas, especially under volatile social and political conditions.
Nonetheless, Waymo’s message is clear: its robotaxis are here to stay—and they’re rolling into more neighborhoods, even as the road gets bumpy.