Waymo has begun opening its robotaxi service to the public in Las Vegas, following final approval from Nevada transportation regulators. This marks Las Vegas as the Alphabet-owned company's 15th commercial robotaxi market.
The service will initially invite public riders on a rolling basis, a strategy Waymo has used in 14 other cities. The company is starting with "dozens" of its new Ojai minivan robotaxis, covering an area that includes the Strip south of Highway 589 and Boulder Junction.
Waymo's entry into Las Vegas follows a busy period for the company, which also began offering robotaxis to invited members of the public in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa earlier this month. Competitors such as Tesla, Zoox, and Motional are also planning to launch commercial robotaxi services in Las Vegas.
The Nevada Transportation Authority has authorised Waymo to operate up to 1,000 autonomous vehicles over the next year in Clark County. Tesla is allowed to deploy up to 5,000, and Uber up to 1,000 robotaxis through partnerships with Motional and Zoox.