Waymo begins much-anticipated service in South Florida. Here's where you can pick up a ride.
The driverless cars seen testing across Miami-Dade for the past year are officially open to riders.
Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company, began inviting Miami-based users from its 10,000‑person waitlist to book rides through its app starting Wednesday.
CBS News Miami's Abby Dodge rode in one of the autonomous vehicles before its first day transporting passengers.
Franklin Trujillo, Waymo's director of commercialization programs, said the company has spent the past year training its vehicles throughout South Florida's varied environment, including heavy rain.
"All of these novelties are important to build a system that's capable of driving in any sort of condition across a number of cities," Trujillo said.
For now, Waymo's service area includes neighborhoods such as Downtown Miami, the Design District, and South Miami.
As the vehicles have become more visible on local roads, drivers and pedestrians have posted videos questioning how the autonomous cars respond to unusual traffic situations, including malfunctioning traffic lights or complicated intersections. Some videos show multiple Waymo vehicles stopped or appearing unsure of how to proceed.
Trujillo acknowledged those concerns but said safety remains the company's top priority.
"We don't want these types of events to happen, but we take them very seriously," he said. "The best part about it is that software is constantly evolving. We can deploy improvements to the fleet, and this continuous learning is crucial."
During the CBS News Miami ride-along, the vehicle encountered a busy intersection where another driver attempted an improper left turn. Waymo Spokesperson Mark Lewis noted that the Waymo vehicle would not follow that path.
"We're probably not going to do what the car on the left is doing," he said, pointing out a car partially driving on a sidewalk. "We are always going to follow the law."
Instead of turning left, the vehicle assessed the situation through more than two dozen cameras and sensors, then chose to continue straight to save time and avoid risk.
Waymo said it plans to expand both its fleet and coverage area throughout 2026.