Waymo will add its own app in Austin and Atlanta, ending Uber-only access by January 2028

Why the Uber-only lane ends

Today in Austin and Atlanta, hailing a Waymo means using Uber. In the Uber app, riders may indicate they want an AV, yet they're only assigned one when a car happens to be close. Mawakana said the shift to Waymo's own app in January 2028 follows customer feedback asking for a more reliable, single-app experience, especially from riders used to Waymo's consumer app in markets like San Francisco.

"Will I get a Waymo? Will I not get a Waymo?," she said on The Circuit with Emily Chang.

What Uber said, and the evolving rivalry

According to Uber, it requested that Waymo include an Austin and Atlanta robotaxi choice to simplify picking that mode, but Waymo declined. Waymo would not provide any comment about talks it has had with Uber. Launching Waymo's app in those cities would end the current Uber-only access there and, by Waymo's own framing, step up the rivalry between the two.

Waymo is experimenting with different routes to monetize its costly autonomous tech. It has leaned on partners like Uber, Lyft Inc., and fleet managers to operate about 4,000 vehicles across the US, and says it completes more than 500,000 trips each week in 14 cities. As Waymo and Tesla Inc. favor their own robotaxi apps, some investors question how central Uber and Lyft will be if autonomous services become common.

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Safety, price, and the path to profit

Waymo is still improving the technology. As it moved into new markets over the past year, its vehicles encountered problems such as entering freeway work zones and traveling through flooded roads, leading the company to file official software recalls with safety regulators. We use simulation.

Profitability remains an open question as Waymo spends to expand its fleet and markets, and on research, development, and maintenance. On average, its trips remain pricier than traditional taxis or human-driven ride-hailing services. On competition, Mawakana said, Price is not the first priority.

Investor takeaways

In plain English: the Uber-only funnel for Waymo rides in Austin and Atlanta lasts until January 2028, when a Waymo app option is slated to arrive and the competitive stakes rise. The watch list for your portfolio includes rider adoption in those two cities, the price gap with human-driven trips, the cadence of safety improvements and recalls, and whether licensing revenue eventually diversifies the model beyond ride-hailing.

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