By Janet H. Cho

Waymo, the driverless taxi operation owned by Alphabet, announced plans to expand its fully autonomous ride-hailing services to Washington, D.C., in 2026, through its Waymo One app.

Waymo tested its robotaxis in Washington last year and earlier this year, but still needs permission from city officials.

Waymo is "working closely with District officials to formalize the policies needed to operate without fully autonomously, without a human behind the wheel," spokesperson Ethan Teicher told Barron's. "Washington, D.C., currently only allows autonomous operations with a trained specialist behind the wheel."

Waymo One currently operates in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin, and says it provides more than 200,000 fully autonomous paid trips each week. It is headed to Atlanta and Miami this year, before expanding to Washington, D.C.

The Trump administration wants to develop national standards for testing and operating self-driving vehicles that would supersede differing standards at the state level.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also has ambitions to roll out the electric vehicle maker's Full Self-Driving capability and Robotaxi business in parts of the U.S. this year. Musk has been spending a lot of time in Washington lately advising President Donald Trump on cuts to federal agencies.

Waymo says it has logged more than 50 million miles of fully autonomous driving nationwide through December 2024.

"We're excited to bring the comfort, consistency, and safety of Waymo One to Washingtonians, those who work and play in the city every day, and the millions of people from around the world who travel to the District every year," Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement.

Mawakana said at the Consumer Electrics Show in January that the U.S. could lead the world in autonomous driving, and that a national standard could increase safety. "This is a real opportunity for U.S. leadership, and so enabling safe sustainable transportation that is autonomous is very aligned with what I think this administration will want to do."

Waymo was developed in Google's X research lab in 2009 and spun off in 2016, but Alphabet kept a controlling interest in the private company.

Here's how it works: Users download the Waymo One app, create an account, and type in their destination. When the vehicle pulls up, users unlock the door with their app, hit "Start Ride," and watch the route their autonomously driven vehicle is taking on their passenger screen. Vehicles can carry up to four passengers at a time.

Waymo said its Waymo Driver uses highly detailed custom maps with real-time sensor data and artificial intelligence instead of GPS to determine its exact road location. Like Uber and Lyft, Waymo's prices could rise when there is especially high demand, such as on nights or weekends, but the company said its riders "will always see the total cost of a ride before booking."

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 25, 2025 17:21 ET (21:21 GMT)

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