Waymo launched two “road trips” to Philadelphia and New York on Monday, marking the interest of the company belonging to the alphabet to expand to the northeast cities.
Waymo’s branded “road trips” do not necessarily signify a commercial launch at any time soon. Waymo has announced many other road trips this year, including Houston, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Diego and San Antonio. Usually, travel includes sending a small fleet of human vehicles equipped with Waymo’s autonomous driving system to map the new city. Waymo then tests the vehicles autonomously, though still with a man behind the steering wheel, before taking any data and lessons back to his engineers to improve the performance of the AI driver.
In some cases, these road trips have led to commercial launches. In 2023, the company made a road trip to Santa Monica, a city in Los Angeles County. The company now operates a commercial service in Los Angeles, such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Hollywood.
For her trip to Philadelphia, Waymo plans to place vehicles in the most complex parts of the city, including the center and motorways, according to a spokesman. He noted that the peoples would see Waymo vehicles drive “all the time in various Philadelphia neighborhoods, from North Central to Eastwick of the University City and as east as the Delaware River”.
In New York, Waymo will drive its cars manually to Manhattan just north of Central Park to the battery and parts of the Brooklyn center. The company will also map out sections of Jersey City and Hoboken in New Jersey.
Waymo applied last month for permission to test her AVs in New York with a man behind the steering wheel. The company has not yet received approval.
This is not the company’s first time in the Big Apple. Waymo initially developed a small fleet of vehicles in late 2021 to map parts of Manhattan and New Jersey. Last winter, Waymo took a road trip to Buffalo to test self-leader in winter.
Even if Waymo is approved to test its vehicles autonomously in New York with a specialist behind the steering wheel, it will be a long road to commercial growth. NYC’s AV regulations do not currently allow operators to develop self-man-free vehicles in the front seat-a Waymo law is currently supporting to change.
Waymo’s continued test across the country is anchored by the current Robotaxi commercial services offered in Atlanta, Austin, Bay Area, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Waymo plans to start in Miami this year and Washington, DC, in 2026.
