jidounten-lab.com reports Waymo opened driverless robotaxi service to the public in 3 U.S. cities

On October 26, 2026, jidounten-lab.com reported that Waymo began a driverless robotaxi service for the public in 3 U.S. cities.

The key distinction in reading this report is between opening a service to the public and how many vehicles are actually operating and how much they are being used. Expanding eligibility to use the service marks a stage in its operation, but does not by itself show how easy it is to get a ride, vehicle utilization rates or actual ride numbers. Announcing a launch should not be treated as proof of the scale of operations; comparisons require consistent measures of what each figure tracks. This distinction also arose in Tesla says Cybercabs in Austin topped 300 in 30 days. The related article listed both the number Tesla disclosed and the number of vehicles registered in Texas, noting that registration and actual operation are not the same measure. Waymo’s case, too, can be compared with existing services only by tracking separately the change in service—opening it to public use—and the number of operating vehicles, vehicles available for dispatch and actual rides. The scope and timing of published figures should also be checked. The fact that a service is available and the configuration in which its autonomous driving system operates are also separate issues. It is important not to conflate the implementation issues discussed in The current state of E2E implementation in Level 4 autonomous driving with the scope of a commercial service. An expansion of the operating area does not necessarily mean the technology or safety measures are the same. The launch in the United States alone also cannot establish the timing or operating conditions of a launch in Japan. The next points to check are the operating areas in each city, the number of vehicles actually in service, ride figures, publicly disclosed safety metrics and their definitions. Measuring progress only by the phrase “open to the public” without aligning these figures risks confusing availability with practical scale. See the original source for details.