Waymo to begin testing in Chicago and Charlotte

Waymo is bringing its robotaxis to Chicago and Charlotte as part of its push to continue scaling autonomous vehicles, the company said Wednesday.

Starting today, Waymo will begin manual mapping and early data collection to lay the groundwork for operations in those cities. Waymo usually enters a new city by first conducting months of manual driving and mapping to understand local road conditions, traffic patterns, and edge cases before gradually introducing autonomous testing and eventually fully driverless operations.

While Charlotte — with its suburban-style layout and mild weather — may be an easier use case, Chicago’s harsh winters, heavy traffic, and dense urban complexity would be more of a challenge for Waymo. Operating there successfully would strengthen Waymo’s case that its system is nationally scalable. It also gives Waymo another shot at a northern city after New York dropped a proposal that would have allowed commercial robotaxi pilots in parts of the state.

The news comes the same week Waymo began offering commercial driverless operations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando, bringing its total city count to 10.