Waymo’s skyrocketing ridership in one chart

Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, has rapidly expanded its commercial robotaxi service, now providing 500,000 paid rides weekly across 10 U.S. cities. This marks a tenfold increase in average weekly rides from 50,000 in May 2024 to the present. The company has grown beyond its initial markets of Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to include seven additional Sun Belt cities—Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando—added within the past year. While Waymo’s fleet size remains relatively steady at around 3,000 vehicles, increased utilization per vehicle is driving growth in ridership, highlighting improved operational efficiency. Despite this impressive growth, Waymo faces regulatory and public scrutiny, including investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) over illegal behavior, as well as concerns from San Francisco officials about how the company manages stuck vehicles. Compared to