Waymo One Advances the Robotaxi Future

THIS IS HOW DEVELOPING SELF-DRIVING CARS IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE—READY TO GO FOR A RIDE?

- Alex Leanse

As if the sight of a stealthy-looking EV clad in whirring sensors wasn't otherworldly enough, realizing there isn't a driver behind the wheel might be enough to convince you you've just had a close encounter of the third kind with a road going UFO. It's a valid reaction for anyone happening upon a Waymo One vehicle for the first time, but denizens of the cities where these robotaxis now roam hardly bat an eye anymore. That's because Waymo One provides reliable, practical, user-friendly, and dare we say, increasingly normal transportation. It's a combination of trustworthy technology and ever-increasing capabilities that earn Waymo One our 2025 Best Tech award in the Robotaxi category.

Waymo is Google's autonomous driving subsidiary, and Waymo One is the name of its commercial robotaxi service. Offering Level 4 autonomous rides in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin, Texas, Waymo One robotaxis now operate over more than 400 square miles. In 2024, Waymo One quadrupled the number of rides it provided, with its driverless vehicles traveling more than four million electric-powered miles at an average of 4.1 miles per trip, saving some 10 million pounds of CO2 emissions as a result, according to Waymo estimates.