Moderation Team
Tampa, FL – Waymo is expanding its autonomous vehicle operations in Florida by launching fully driverless robotaxi testing in Tampa as the company continues to grow its presence across the United States.
The Alphabet owned company announced that its vehicles will begin operating without human safety drivers behind the wheel in Tampa.
The initial phase will be limited to Waymo and Google employees, allowing the company to evaluate vehicle performance and gather additional operational data before determining when the service will become available to the public.
Tampa is one of four cities included in Waymo’s latest expansion, joining Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego.
The move increases the company’s autonomous testing and service footprint as competition in the driverless transportation industry continues to grow.
Before introducing driverless service in a new city, Waymo follows a phased rollout that includes mapping local roads, collecting driving data, testing with trained safety drivers, and eventually transitioning to vehicles operating without a human behind the wheel.
The company said this process is intended to validate the technology in real world conditions before public passenger service begins.
Waymo’s fleet consists primarily of electric vehicles equipped with cameras, radar, lidar sensors, and onboard software that enables the vehicles to navigate streets autonomously.
The company has expanded its commercial robotaxi service to multiple metropolitan areas and continues adding new markets as testing progresses.
Waymo has not announced when residents in the Tampa area will be able to book autonomous rides.
The company said the employee only testing phase will help ensure the technology is ready before a broader public rollout.
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