Among the things my generation has been promised, I’m especially excited about the rise of robotaxis.
Sadly, they aren’t yet flooding the streets, as we expected or wished for. Regulatory approvals aren’t that easy to get, and the tech is still facing some hurdles.
But don’t despair just yet — there are indeed some places around the world where you can actually take a ride with an AI driver.
For now, the major players are operating in the US and China. So unless you already reside in the areas listed below, the only thing you can do is book a flight.
The US
Phoenix, Arizona: Since 2020, Alphabet’s Waymo has been offering fully driverless services to the public in the Phoenix Metro area. You can use the accompanying app to hail the Waymo One robotaxi and pay for the ride.
San Francisco, California: Again Waymoterritory. The company has been giving free autonomous rides as part of its Trusted Tester program since last August. Now it’s ready to remove safety drivers, although it hasn’t announced a specific date.
Wuhan: Deeproute and WeRide.ai are offering free rides in their autonomous vehicles.
Chongqing, Changsha, and Cangzhou: Baidu’s Apollo Go is the only service available for now.
We will continue updating the article with the new emerging places and companies.