Waymo has dropped its waitlist and opened its autonomous ride-hailing service to the general public in San Antonio, San Diego, and Tampa, allowing anyone to download the app and hail a fully autonomous ride2. The expansion includes service to San Antonio International Airport1.
Waymo said it has welcomed hundreds of thousands of riders across the three cities since launching service earlier in the year.
In San Antonio, Waymo's service area remains concentrated in the central core, covering downtown, Dellview, Southtown, and Alamo Heights. Fares include a $3 base price and $2.25 per mile, according to price-comparison site RideWise, putting the average local trip at roughly $20, slightly above human-operated rideshares and traditional taxis.
Riders may be matched with Waymo's new Ojai minivans, which run the company's sixth-generation driving system and feature LED screens for passenger control of temperature and music.
Waymo first opened limited public service in San Antonio in February and extended coverage to the airport in late March. In April and May, the company paused operations to push software updates that improved rider safety, including the ability to detect floodwaters. The pause followed a small number of incidents, among them an April report of a passengerless vehicle getting stuck in high water. The only known pedestrian injury involving a Waymo in San Antonio occurred with a human driver behind the wheel.
The airport addition makes San Antonio International at least the second U.S. airport Waymo has connected in recent weeks; the company recently began robotaxi pickups and drop-offs at Nashville International Airport as well[3]. Waymo also operates more than 300 robotaxis in Austin, where it competes directly with Tesla's growing Cybercab fleet[2].
ANALYSIS Lifting waitlists simultaneously in three cities marks a shift from controlled-access rollouts to open commercial service, compressing the timeline Waymo has historically followed in earlier markets.