Waymo is opening up its self-driving ride service in four new US cities, marking one of the company’s most expansive deployments to date.The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company recently announced that select riders in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Orlando can now request fully driverless rides through the Waymo app. Initial access is limited to invited users, with broader public availability expected later this year as operations scale.“Select riders from the tens of thousands in these cities who have downloaded the Waymo app will receive an invitation to take their first local rides today,” the company said in a February 24 release, “as we meaningfully scale our operations ahead of opening our service to everyone later this year.”The expansion brings Waymo’s total US city count to 10. The company already operates paid robotaxi services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, and launched in Nashville last year and Miami in January.“We are on track to serve over one million rides per week by the end of this year,” said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana. “Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando are critical to our plans, as we lay groundwork for service in 20 (plus) cities.”gettyimages-2259658403Waymo says its vehicles have driven 127 million rider-only miles without a human behind the wheel as of September 2025. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration classifies Waymo’s system as Level 4 “high automation,” meaning the vehicle handles all driving tasks within limited service areas.The rollout comes amid heightened scrutiny of autonomous vehicles. Last month, a Waymo vehicle struck a child in Santa Monica at low speed, resulting in minor injuries and prompting an NHTSA investigation.Even so, Waymo continues to expand aggressively, betting that a gradual rollout of services will help build public trust.