AUSTIN, Texas — Waymo began offering fully autonomous freeway rides in Austin, expanding its driverless service.
Riders who book through the Uber app may now be routed onto freeways on select trips, the company said. Waymo said it is rolling out the feature gradually and will extend it to more riders over time.
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“Austin riders can now experience the full breadth of what the Waymo Driver has to offer, including getting where they’re going faster and more efficiently on freeways,” a Waymo spokesperson said.
The expansion follows months of freeway testing in Austin, including rides taken by company employees and trips supervised by Waymo specialists, the company said.
Waymo already offers autonomous freeway rides in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. The company said it has logged more than 1 million fully autonomous freeway miles with riders in those cities.
The spokesperson said the Austin launch “reflects our methodical, safety-first approach to expanding our service.” The company said the rollout follows the same process it has used in other markets under its published safety framework.
Waymo has offered driverless rides in Austin through a partnership with Uber since March 2025, but until now those trips were limited to surface streets.