Waymo has removed the human safety driver from its autonomous test vehicles in Nashville. This move brings the Alphabet-owned company closer to launching a robotaxi service in the city this year.
Waymo has been testing in Nashville for months. Riders will initially hail rides directly through the Waymo app. Once the service expands, Waymo will also make its self-driving vehicles available through the Lyft app. Lyft has stated it will handle fleet services, such as vehicle readiness and maintenance, charging infrastructure, and depot operations, through its wholly owned subsidiary Flexdrive.
This expansion is part of a broader acceleration for Waymo. The company currently operates commercial robotaxi services in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Phoenix. It also maintains driverless test fleets in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando.
In each new market, Waymo follows a consistent rollout strategy. It begins with a small fleet of manually driven vehicles to map the city. Next, autonomous vehicles are tested with a human safety operator behind the wheel. Finally, the company progresses to driverless testing, often allowing employees to hail rides, before officially launching a public robotaxi service.