Waymo Touts It’s ‘Laying the groundwork’ for Coming Washington DC Expansion
Waymo announced on Tuesday it’ll be “ready for riders” in Washington DC come 2026.
The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, which boasts it’s “the world’s leading fully autonomous ride-hailing service” and provides over 200,000 fully autonomous paid trips each week, said in its announcement it plans to “continue introducing ourselves to DC’s communities and emergency responders over the coming months,” as well as working closely with policymakers in an effort to “formalize the regulations needed to operate without a human behind the wheel in the District.”
“Waymo One is making fully autonomous driving a reality for millions of people across the [United States],” Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo’s co-CEO, said in a statement for the company’s announcement. “We’re excited to bring the comfort, consistency, and safety of Waymo One to Washingtonians, those who work and play in the city every day, and the millions of people from around the world who travel to the District every year.”
In reacting to Waymo’s expansion news, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) today posted on LinkedIn it is “excited” by the new development and is “proud” to continue its work with Waymo to “[push] toward a future of greater independence and freedom of mobility by making this technology available to the thousands of people in DC who are Blind or have low vision.” The ACB included in its post a photo of executive director Scott Thornhill and director of advocacy and governmental affairs Claire Stanley standing in front of a Waymo SUV. With Stanley is her guide dog named Tulane.
I’ve covered Waymo both extensively and from extremely close range over the last few years. They have service here in San Francisco, and I’ve been a Waymo One user since before the app went public. The best recommendation I can give Waymo is to say its app has cemented a place on the Home Screen of my iPhone 16 Pro Max. Without even the slightest hyperbole, Waymo has utterly revolutionized how I get around my city. While I continue to walk around my neighborhood for quick jaunts, anything further away and I’m using my phone to summon a Waymo. Likewise, while I continue to be a staunch proponent of public transit for myriad reasons, the reality is, for me, Waymo has proven itself far more accessible. The on-demand nature of it is arguably the best accessibility feature, with the fact I’m traveling alone coming in a close second. For better or worse, Waymo plays to my introverted nature; I needn’t have to worry about a crowded bus—where, even with my Blind cane in tow as identification, I’m not guaranteed a seat up front, however entitled—nor do I have to contend with a chatty Lyft or Uber driver. What’s more, Waymo’s technical attributes—its phone-centric design and self-driving technologies—are both seriously strong plays to my soul as an unabashed tech nerd.
To that point, the ACB’s sentiments about Waymo engendering greater freedom and independence for disabled people and their mobility resonate greatly with me. While I’m in no way proclaiming the company’s service is perfect, I am comfortable in making the proclamation that the anti-robotaxi brigade is myopic in its fervor. Safety and technical competence are obviously important; it’s disingenuous, however, to claim autonomous vehicles, be they Waymo’s or the competition’s, are utterly detrimental. To suggest so is to be willfully obtuse about their potential for genuine good. To wit, that Waymo has been so transformative for me (and others) isn’t the least bit trivial or niche.
Beyond San Francisco (and next year, Washington DC), Waymo offers service in Austin, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The company plans to add Atlanta and Miami in the future.
