Robotaxi guide 2026: the companies, the cars, and how to ride one

A robotaxi is a taxi that drives itself: you book it in an app, and it takes you where you are going with nobody at the wheel, within the area it is approved for. In November 2026, robotaxis carry paying riders in the US, China, the United Arab Emirates and, so far mostly with a driver at the wheel, in Europe. Waymo is the largest, with more than 500,000 paid rides a week in 15 US metros.¹

This guide covers who runs them, in which cars, how to ride one and how they got here. How a robotaxi sees the road, what a ride costs and how safe they are is in What is a robotaxi?, and every city is in Where are robotaxis operating?

Who runs robotaxis

Waymo is far ahead in the US.¹ Its newer Ojai, open to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco since August 2026, is a van made by Zeekr that Waymo fits with its own system in Arizona.²

Tesla started in Austin in June 2025 and counts six cities where its cars drive with no Tesla employee on board; the two-seat Cybercab carries riders in Austin.³⁴

Zoox builds its own vehicle, with no steering wheel or pedals. A first-of-its-kind federal exemption in July 2026 let it charge fares, and it has carried paying riders in Las Vegas since August.⁵⁶

In China, Baidu's Apollo Go covers 28 cities worldwide.⁷ Pony.ai had 1,975 robotaxis on the road at the end of June 2026, and WeRide more than 1,800 worldwide at the end of July.⁸⁹ WeRide also runs in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh, booked through Uber.

In Europe, Verne takes paying riders in Zagreb, and Wayve's cars take rides in London with a driver at the wheel.¹⁰ Every service in Europe is in Robotaxi companies in Europe.

How to ride a robotaxi

1. Get the app. Waymo's own app in most of its cities, the Uber app for Waymo in Austin and Atlanta, Tesla's Robotaxi app, and the Uber app in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and London. Some services still let riders in gradually.¹¹
2. Book inside the service area. Both the pick-up and the drop-off must be inside the map the service shows. Outside it, the app will not offer a ride.
3. Find the car. It stops at a spot near you where it can pull in safely, which is not always the exact door you asked for.
4. Ride. A screen shows the route and the arrival time, and buttons let you ask the car to pull over.¹²

How robotaxis got here

• 2017: Waymo starts an early rider programme in the Phoenix area, with a person in the driver's seat.¹³
• October 2020: Waymo opens fully driverless rides to the public in Phoenix.¹³
• August 2022: Baidu starts fully driverless, paid rides in Wuhan and Chongqing.¹⁴
• October 2023: California suspends the driverless permits of GM's Cruise after one of its cars hit a pedestrian, saying Cruise's cars were not safe and that it had misrepresented safety information.¹⁵
• December 2024: GM stops funding Cruise, after spending more than $10 billion on it since 2016.¹⁶
• June 2025: Tesla starts rides in Austin for invited users, with a safety monitor in the passenger seat and a flat fare of $4.20.¹²
• 2026: Zoox takes paying riders in Las Vegas, Waymo reaches 15 US metros, and the first paid robotaxi rides in Europe start in Zagreb.⁶¹¹⁰

Quick answers

What does robotaxi mean? A taxi with no driver: a self-driving car that carries passengers on demand. It is also written robo-taxi, and services call them driverless, self-driving or autonomous taxis.

Can you buy a robotaxi? No. The operators own and run their fleets; you buy a ride.

Do robotaxis have a steering wheel? Most do, because they are built from ordinary cars, such as Waymo's Jaguars and Tesla's Model Ys. Zoox's vehicle and Tesla's Cybercab have none.⁵⁴

Is there a robotaxi in Europe? Yes, in Zagreb since April 2026, and in London with a driver at the wheel.¹⁰

Where robotaxis wait

Every robotaxi spends part of its day empty: on its way to the next rider, charging, or waiting. As fleets grow, cities have to decide where they wait. Some are setting aside staging areas, as they once did taxi ranks. When several operators share a city, someone has to give those spots out fairly, and that is what Lanoo does. Why it matters is in Where do robotaxis go between rides?

Sources

1. Electrek, Waymo adds nearly 250 square miles of robotaxi coverage in 5 cities, 27 October 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. TechCrunch, Waymo's cheaper next-gen robotaxi is now open to all riders in these three cities, 19 August 2026. ↩

3. Tesla, Robotaxi Safety Report; see Not a Tesla App, Tesla names next Robotaxi cities, shares miles driven and safety data, 21 October 2026. ↩

4. Smart Cities Dive, Tesla robotaxis now open to riders in 4 cities, 23 July 2026. ↩ ↩²

5. Smart Cities Dive, Zoox purpose-built robotaxis get first-ever nod from NHTSA for paid rides, 31 July 2026. ↩ ↩²

6. CNBC, Amazon's Zoox to launch paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, 5 August 2026. ↩ ↩²

7. Baidu, Apollo Go goes live on Uber in Dubai, 20 August 2026. ↩

8. Pony AI Inc., 2026 interim report, September 2026. ↩

9. WeRide, Second quarter and first half 2026 results, 12 August 2026. ↩

10. Euronews, Look, no hands: Euronews rode driverless in Europe's first robotaxi in Zagreb, 18 October 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

11. Waymo Help Center, Where Waymo is available, read 1 November 2026. ↩

12. Engadget, Tesla's first Robotaxi rides kick off in Austin, Texas, June 2025. ↩ ↩²

13. Waymo, Waymo is opening its fully driverless service to the general public in Phoenix, 8 October 2020. ↩ ↩²

14. TechCrunch, Baidu to operate fully driverless commercial robotaxi in Wuhan and Chongqing, August 2022. ↩

15. California DMV, DMV statement on Cruise LLC suspension, 24 October 2023. ↩

16. Fortune, General Motors to stop funding Cruise robotaxi business, 10 December 2024. ↩