Waymo is eyeing two new cities for it self-driving taxi service including Chicago and Charlotte.
After vehicles were spotted by locals, Waymo has confirmed that it is beginning to test self-driving vehicles in Chicago, Illinois, as well as Charlotte, North Carolina. This includes “manual mapping and early data collection.”
Waymo runs these tests, with human drivers behind the wheel, for months to understand local road conditions, traffic patterns, and “edge cases” that might not be expected without actually driving.
As TechCrunch points out, Chicago will be a tough region given its harsh winter weather as well as heavy traffic. Charlotte will likely be no picnic, though, given the city’s well-known abundance of… interesting local driving habits – personally, living just a couple of hours outside of Charlotte, I detest any time I have to pass through those highways. There’s even a video game about an iconically dangerous exit on a Charlotte highway.
There’s no word on when Waymo would actually plan to start driverless taxi services in either city, but testing is also underway in London, Washington DC, and Denver.
You can keep up with all of the cities Waymo is active in through our guide:
More on Waymo:
- Waymo app simplifies bottom bar, adds Liquid Glass
- Waymo starts rolling out freeway driving in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix
- Waymo is bringing fully autonomous, driverless ride-hailing to London in 2026
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