Waymo Launches Driverless Robotaxi in Nashville

Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle unit, launched its driverless robotaxi service in Nashville, Tennessee, this week, marking the company's 11th city for public ride-hailing operations. The service began accepting initial riders on a rolling basis through the Waymo app, allowing users to request fully autonomous rides across a 60-square-mile area that includes popular neighborhoods such as Broadway's honky-tonks, the boutiques of 12 South, Midtown's vibrant energy, and East Nashville's food scene.

The rollout follows months of preparation in the city, where Waymo vehicles first operated with human drivers before transitioning to testing without safety operators as early as February. Interested riders can download the app and monitor social channels for access codes to join the waitlist, ensuring a gradual expansion to maintain service quality. Waymo operates dozens of electric vehicles in Nashville, though exact fleet numbers were not disclosed.

In a departure from partnerships in other cities, Waymo has teamed up with Lyft for fleet management through its subsidiary Flexdrive, which will handle maintenance, cleaning, charging, and depot operations. Rides will initially be...