Prime Highlight
- Waymo has received broad new regulatory approval from the California DMV, allowing it to operate fully autonomous vehicles across much larger regions of the state.
- The company announced its next major milestone: robotaxi service in San Diego starting mid-2026.
Key Facts
- The expanded approval now covers most of Northern California, including the East Bay, North Bay, Napa, and Sacramento, and a wide section of Southern California.
- Waymo still needs additional permissions to carry paying passengers in some newly approved areas, according to reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Background
Waymo has received new regulatory approval to expand its fully autonomous driving operations across large parts of California, strengthening its position as a major player in the robotaxi market. In an announcement, the company said it is now “officially authorized to drive fully autonomously across more of the Golden State.”
Waymo already runs services in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles, along with operations in cities such as Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix. The latest approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles allows the company to test and deploy its autonomous vehicles over a much wider area.
In Northern California, Waymo’s expanded territory now includes most of the East Bay, the North Bay, including Napa’s wine regions, and even Sacramento. In Southern California, the approved zone spans from Santa Clarita to San Diego, covering a major stretch of the state.
However, the company will still require additional permissions before it can start carrying paying passengers in some of the newly approved regions, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
While the company did not specify launch dates for all new service areas, Waymo confirmed its next big milestone: “Next stop: welcoming riders in San Diego in mid-2026!” Earlier, the firm had shared plans to expand into several other cities, including Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Waymo has been making rapid progress over recent weeks. The company announced new launches in Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Tampa, confirmed the removal of safety drivers ahead of a commercial rollout in Miami, and started offering freeway-based rides in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.
The expanded approvals mark another step toward wider autonomous mobility across the United States.
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