Waymo opens Houston robotaxis to everyone

A Houston resident with the Waymo app can now request a robotaxi without waiting for an invitation. On August 21, Waymo opened its service to everyone in the city, moving beyond the phased rollout that had started in February.

The change follows more than 100,000 riders from Houston’s interest list, according to Waymo. The company says those early users relied on the service to run errands, commute to work and go out with friends.

Houston also became a test of the service in a city welcoming major crowds. Waymo says its robotaxis carried people to and from games at Reliant Stadium during the World Cup, when the city hosted over 1 million visitors.

So what changes in practice? Anyone in Houston can now open the app and hail a Waymo ride, rather than first registering interest and waiting for access. That turns the service from a limited invitation program into an option available to the wider public in the city.

The milestones remain company-reported. The next measure of progress will be how the open service performs beyond the invitation list.