Waymo began conducting automated vehicle testing in Philadelphia and New York City on Monday, marking another key step in its broader expansion across major urban centers in the Northeastern United States.
The Alphabet subsidiary, known primarily for its self-driving technology, described these initial activities as “road trips,” which serve as investigative forays rather than immediate indicators of commercial intentions. Similar exploratory missions this year have seen Waymo vehicles navigating the streets of Houston, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Diego, and San Antonio. These excursions typically start with human drivers gathering detailed spatial information to aid Waymo’s advanced mapping tools. Subsequent autonomous tests occur with a human operator in the driver’s seat, recording critical performance data to refine the company’s artificial intelligence-driven self-driving systems.
Though Waymo’s road trips do not guarantee immediate commercial rollout, some previous exploratory ventures have transitioned into full-scale services. After initial exploration in Santa Monica in 2023, Waymo successfully expanded commercial operations into several prominent regions of Los Angeles, including Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and Santa Monica itself.
In Philadelphia, Waymo vehicles will tackle some of the city’s most intricate and demanding environments, including downtown districts and significant freeway segments. According to a company spokesperson, these self-driving vehicles will operate around the clock, traversing neighborhoods ranging from North Central and Eastwick to University City, extending as far east as the Delaware River.
In New York City, Waymo plans manual driving operations extending from neighborhoods just north of Central Park down to The Battery, including portions of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn as well as adjacent areas like Jersey City and Hoboken in New Jersey. Although Waymo has applied for a permit to conduct autonomous testing in New York City with safety operators behind the wheel, local regulators have not yet granted approval.
This isn’t Waymo’s first involvement in the New York metropolitan area. The company previously launched a limited mapping initiative in 2021, targeting parts of Manhattan and New Jersey. Additionally, earlier this winter, the autonomous vehicle provider conducted cold-weather testing around Buffalo, emphasizing its commitment to expanding the boundaries of its self-driving technology.
Yet, even if Waymo receives approval for testing autonomous vehicles in New York City, complete commercial deployment may remain distant due to current regulations. NYC laws presently require a human driver at the controls of any autonomous vehicle under test, a constraint Waymo hopes to revise through ongoing advocacy efforts.
Currently, Waymo provides fully commercial robotaxi services in several cities, including Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco’s Bay Area, Austin, and Atlanta. The company’s strategic roadmap involves planned expansions into Miami this year and Washington, D.C., by 2026.
