Source: Waymo
Waymo is giving riders even more flexibility when it comes to hailing one of its fully autonomous robotaxis. The company announced today that users can now schedule a ride ahead of time directly in the Waymo app, making it easier to plan trips in advance instead of only being able to request an immediate pickup.
“Set your pickup time, we’ll handle the rest,” the company said in a post on X. “Now you can plan a ride with Waymo ahead of time, on your terms.”
The new feature adds a layer of convenience that brings Waymo’s autonomous service closer to matching — and in some ways surpassing — the experience of traditional ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. Whether it’s an early morning airport trip, a scheduled meeting, or simply ensuring a ride is ready when needed, customers now have the option to pre-book their Waymo.
This update comes just days after Waymo became the first company approved to test autonomous vehicles in New York City. That approval, however, is limited to controlled testing for now, with no commercial robotaxi rides allowed in the Big Apple yet.
Waymo has been steadily growing its footprint across the U.S. Last month, the Alphabet-owned company announced that Dallas, Texas, would become its next service city, with a planned robotaxi launch in 2026. Its existing operations in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin have already logged millions of rider-only miles, helping Waymo position itself at the forefront of the burgeoning autonomous driving space.
With scheduled rides now part of its service, Waymo is showing how it intends to keep evolving its user experience as robotaxi adoption (and competition) expands in the coming years.
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