Can I ride Waymo in Austin?

Riding Waymo in Austin

The Austin area was 37 sq mi when Waymo arrived on Uber on Mar 4, 2025, taking in Hyde Park, Downtown and Montopolis. A later reported figure of 140 sq mi fits a rough outline that reaches the Domain in the north and Manchaca in the south, follows MoPac and Sunset Valley on the west, and runs along US-183 past Windsor Park to McKinney Falls on the east. Austin-Bergstrom sits outside it and is not on Waymo's airport list.

Freeways are the newest change. Spectrum News reported on Sep 24, 2026 that select Uber trips can now use MoPac, I-35, US 183 and US 290, though not every trip gets a freeway route. Riders must be 18 or older to travel alone, and Austin has no teen accounts. Every ride runs through Uber, and The Next Web reported that Waymo's own app should arrive in Jan 2028, with Uber keeping the fleet through at least May 2028.

Tesla is the main alternative. It books through its own app, reports a larger zone of 246 to 288 sq mi with freeways, lets riders 8 to 17 travel with an adult, and still puts a safety monitor in some cars, whereas no Waymo trip in Austin has anyone aboard. Zoox's purpose-built vehicles carry only employees and their guests in a small zone south of central Austin. State permits are covered under Texas rules.