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Waymo has begun operating its self-driving taxis in Las Vegas, covering a 24-mile area around the Strip with plans to expand into Clark County. The service primarily uses Jaguar I-Pace-based Ojai electric minivans fitted with Waymo's sixth-generation autonomous driving hardware, following Nevada regulators' approval of an Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit last month.
New research on both partial and full self-driving systems shows sharp safety gains. IIHS and Highway Loss Data Institute studies found automatic emergency braking and bundled ADAS features cut pedestrian crashes, rear-end collisions, and insurance claims by double-digit percentages. Waymo's own analysis of 20 million paid rides found a 92 percent drop in fatal or serious-injury crashes compared with human drivers.
Uber has begun operating the UK's first robotaxi service in London, using 15 Ford Mustang electric vehicles fitted with Wayve's autonomous driving technology. Each car currently requires a human safety driver ready to intervene, and rides cost the same as a standard UberX, Electric or Comfort trip. The self-driving option only appears in the app after booking, if a suitable vehicle is nearby.
TechCrunch reporting found OSHA filings showing more than two dozen injuries among Waymo and Zoox test drivers in 2024 and 2025, many caused by hard braking or abrupt maneuvers of the autonomous vehicles. Some workers suffered whiplash and other injuries that kept them off the job for months.
The Atlanta Rideshare Drivers Union says Uber and Lyft drivers have seen falling pay and longer waits since Waymo's robotaxis launched in the city last June. The group is asking city and state officials to impose a $0.50-$1.00 per-ride fee on robotaxi trips to fund driver retraining, and to bar Waymo vehicles from picking up passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Organizer Liza Ramsey admits there's no formal data yet, relying instead on driver-shared earnings screenshots as evidence.
Reggie Overton, who calls himself a Tesla ambassador with no formal ties to the company, says a 2.3-mile Robotaxi trip in Austin gave wildly inconsistent arrival estimates ranging from 16 to over an hour. After multiple calls to support failed to fix the routing issue, he and his companion exited the vehicle and hailed an Uber instead. Tesla only issued a refund after his complaint went viral online.
Business Insider reports that former Uber and Lyft drivers are now working at Waymo's robotaxi depots, handling tasks like cleaning, charging, and inspecting the self-driving vehicles. At Waymo's Lyft-run Nashville depot, workers such as Chauncy Thompson and Jonathan Baines say they prefer the steady hours and hands-on maintenance work to gig driving. Lyft plans to open another Nashville depot in October, staffing half its roles with former rideshare drivers.
Waymo has begun adding electric vehicles manufactured in China, made by Zeekr, to its robotaxi fleet even as the U.S. maintains steep tariffs and restrictions that effectively block most Chinese-made EVs from American consumers. The vehicles are imported and retrofitted with Waymo's self-driving technology before entering commercial service.
OSHA disclosures reviewed by TechCrunch show test drivers for Waymo and Zoox suffered sprains, strains and whiplash when autonomous software braked hard or swerved suddenly, with 16 injuries linked to Waymo depots via contractor Transdev and up to eight tied to Zoox. Some workers were out for weeks or months, and current and former Zoox contractors say abrupt braking incidents are still occurring.
Waymo announced plans to bring its autonomous vehicles to Munich, aiming to launch commercial robotaxi service there by the end of 2027, marking its first deployment in the European Union. The company will begin mapping streets and testing with safety drivers in the coming weeks while seeking permits from local, state and federal authorities. Munich follows London, where Waymo hopes to start public rides as soon as next month, as part of a broader European push that includes new subsidiaries in France, Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
As robotaxi fleets grow in cities like New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco, local officials and lawmakers are moving to impose new restrictions, including vehicle caps, per-mile fees, and stricter citation powers. Governor Hochul shelved a plan to expand driverless taxis beyond NYC after union and legislative opposition, while San Francisco's mayor now backs tougher rules following traffic disruptions caused by Waymo vehicles. Federal regulators have also warned AV makers about safety risks when interacting with emergency responders.