Waymo starts robotaxi testing in Philadelphia and NYC

Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, has begun testing its robotaxi technology in Philadelphia and New York City as part of its ongoing expansion into Northeastern U.S. markets. These "road trips" involve deploying a small fleet of human-driven vehicles equipped with Waymo’s self-driving system to map and gather data on complex urban environments. Following this, Waymo tests autonomous driving with a safety driver behind the wheel to refine its AI before any commercial launch. Previous road trips to cities like Houston, Orlando, and San Antonio have followed a similar pattern, with some, such as Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, leading to commercial robotaxi services. In Philadelphia, Waymo plans to operate in challenging areas including downtown, freeways, and diverse neighborhoods like North Central, Eastwick, and University City. In New York City, the company is currently driving manually in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, as well as mapping Jersey City and Hoboken in New Jersey. However, Waymo has not yet