Waymo cleared to offer robotaxi rides at San Jose airport

Waymo has been cleared to serve its first airpot in California: San Jose Mineta International. The company announced Thursday that it will start testing its robotaxis there in the coming months, and that it plans to start offering commercial rides by the end of the year.

The company has spent years working toward serving airports in its home state. Waymo was going back-and-forth with officials at San Francisco’s airport back in 2023 but was rebuffed. Earlier this year, though, Waymo was granted a permit to start manually mapping the major airport as a first step toward launching a commercial service there.

Waymo started offering curbside drop-off and pick-up at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport in late 2023, and expanded to 24/7 service in August 2024. The company says it has since offered “hundreds of thousands” of trips to and from the Arizona airport and that it’s the most popular destination in Phoenix.

The company has been on an expansion tear lately. It has more than 2,000 robotaxis in its nationwide fleet, with around 800 in the Bay Area, 500 in Los Angeles, 400 in Phoenix, 100 in Austin, and “dozens” in Atlanta.

Earlier this week, Waymo revealed plans to expand service to Denver and Seattle, and the company previously announced that it will launch commercial operations in Dallas, Miami, and Washington, D.C. Waymo also recently received approval to start testing its vehicles in New York City.