Waymo has removed the human safety driver from its autonomous test vehicles operating in Nashville, marking a significant step forward as the Alphabet-owned company prepares to introduce a full robotaxi service in the city.
After months of on-the-ground testing in Nashville, Waymo is planning to roll out its commercial robotaxi operations there later this year through a partnership with Lyft. In the initial phase, passengers will be able to request rides directly through the Waymo app. As the service expands, Waymo's self-driving vehicles will also be available on the Lyft platform. Lyft has confirmed that it will oversee fleet-related responsibilities, including vehicle readiness and upkeep, charging infrastructure, and depot management, through its fully owned subsidiary, Flexdrive.
Waymo has been rapidly expanding its robotaxi footprint across the United States. The company currently runs commercial autonomous ride-hailing services in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Phoenix. In addition, it maintains fully driverless testing fleets in cities such as Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando.
In each new city, Waymo generally follows a structured rollout approach. The process begins with a limited number of manually driven vehicles collecting detailed mapping data. Once mapping is complete, the company transitions to testing autonomous vehicles with a trained safety driver seated in the driver's seat. After that phase, Waymo proceeds to fully driverless testing, often permitting employees to book rides. The final step is the official launch of a commercial robotaxi service for the public.
