Waymo Expands Testing Operations Across Four New U.S. Cities

• Manual driving begins in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore as Waymo prepares for future service.
• Autonomous testing is underway in Philadelphia following earlier manual operations.

Waymo is scaling its self-driving vehicle program to new urban areas. The company announced that test fleets are now active in four additional cities. In St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, the company has started manual driving with its electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles. In Philadelphia, where operations began earlier this year, testing has moved into the autonomous phase with specialists on board.

Waymo is following the same step-by-step approach it has used in other deployments, beginning with manual driving, validating its technology, and gradually progressing toward autonomous service. That process is now underway in St. Louis, where early groundwork has begun, and in Baltimore, where the company is working with state officials on a regulatory path. In Pittsburgh, manual driving is taking place in the downtown core with a fleet of 5th and 6th-generation vehicles, while in Philadelphia, operations have advanced to autonomous testing with specialists still behind the wheel.

Waymo says its technology has already logged over 100 million fully autonomous miles on public roads. That experience, along with feedback from city partners and advocacy groups, will inform its approach as it works toward future public launches in all four locations.

🌀 Tom’s Take:

Waymo’s rapid expansion shows what’s possible once a clear operational framework and proven technology are in place. With fully autonomous systems already active in major cities, the company is now scaling with precision across the U.S.

Source: Waymo