Where they’re working today
Fully driverless ride-hail is no longer a demo; it’s operating daily in parts of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta, with a fresh exploratory launch in Denver. Waymo also just won approval to serve San Jose Mineta International Airport, its first major California airport, after years of running at Phoenix Sky Harbor. Partnerships with Uber are widening access, letting riders hail Waymo cars within the familiar Uber app in several metros. The footprint keeps growing in carefully mapped zones, often starting with limited hours or corridors and expanding as confidence builds.
Waymo is operating fully driverless rides at city scale in multiple U.S. metros and is adding airports and new cities next.
Why scaling is still hard
High-profile setbacks have made regulators and cities cautious. GM’s Cruise, once a front-runner, shuttered robotaxi development after a series of incidents and probes, and U.S. regulators later closed an investigation noting GM had ceased Cruise operations. Tesla is pushing a “robotaxi” experience with a new app, but in California it still lacks the full set of approvals to operate driverless service, while federal safety scrutiny of Autopilot/FSD continues. Even advanced driver-assist systems (like BlueCruise) are under investigation after serious crashes, underscoring how hard robust autonomy is in messy real-world conditions.
Safety incidents and ongoing investigations are why regulators are moving deliberately and keeping timelines conservative.
What’s next in 12–24 months
Expect incremental expansion: larger service zones, deeper integration with airports, and more cities moving from pilots to paid service. In the U.S., Waymo plans continued growth (including airport access at San Jose), while Amazon-owned Zoox is ramping toward public rides on a constrained Las Vegas loop before broader launches. Internationally, the UK’s Automated Vehicles Act sets up an authorization regime targeting initial driverless passenger services in 2026, a clear regulatory on-ramp. Meanwhile, China remains a mix of rapid deployment and headline-grabbing mishaps, reminding everyone that edge cases still bite.
Over the next two years you’ll see more geofenced robotaxi zones and airport links, not nationwide autonomy overnight.
What it may mean for you
If you live in or visit a supported neighborhood in a handful of metros, you can likely try a driverless ride this year; if not, your “self-driving” will remain supervised assistance features in a privately owned car. Tesla’s new app may get you a chauffeur-style ride with a human safety monitor in some places, but California regulators have made clear that truly driverless, paid service needs specific permits Tesla doesn’t yet have. For most consumers, the path is: occasional robotaxis in defined areas first, then wider availability as data, safety cases, and rules mature. Broad “drive-anywhere” self-driving for personal cars remains a longer-horizon goal.
For most people, the near-term reality is supervised features and occasional robotaxi rides - true “self-driving everywhere” is years away.