Waymo To Begin Passenger Pickups At CA Airport

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The world's first automated ride-hailing service, Waymo, is officially expanding its tireprint to the airport — a first for the rapidly expanding company.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Tuesday that the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has signed a permit to test autonomous vehicles with Waymo. But first, the service will be under the supervision of human drivers on airport roads.

The pilot program will be rolled out in three phases. To start, the robocab will offer service to airport employees before beginning commercial operations, the city said.

“Across San Francisco, we are expanding safe, reliable, and modern transportation options—supporting our city’s economic comeback, boosting our tourism industry, and connecting residents and visitors to everything our city has to offer,” Lurie wrote in a statement.

“We announced in March that we wanted visitors to be able to ride in a Waymo as soon as they arrived in San Francisco, and today, we are taking another important step to get there.”

In March, Lurie allowed Waymo to conduct digital mapping of SFO's roadways. The newly signed permit will allow Waymo to access portions of the airport to test and pilot autonomous cars on designated roads.

Here are the three phases of the Testing and Operations Pilot Permit program:

• Phase 1: Testing autonomous vehicles in autonomous mode with a trained specialist behind the wheel
• Phase 2: Testing passenger service in fully autonomous mode with Waymo employees and designated airport staff as passengers
• Phase 3: Piloting commercial operations of paid-for-hire autonomous services for Waymo customers

The pilot program comes after an extensive review process that included safety protocols and data reporting.

"The approval of this permit with Waymo provides passengers with a new and innovative option that delivers the dependability and ease travelers expect when coming through SFO, the gateway to San Francisco," wrote SFO Director Mike Nakornkhet.

The robotaxi company, owned by Mountain View-based Alphabet Inc., has grown its ridership exponentially since it first launched in 2021, with more than 10 million fully autonomous trips made as of last month.

According to Waymo, the service eclipsed more than 100 million miles of "road experience" last month.

Waymo began offering rides in San Francisco in 2021 as part of a pilot program and officially opened its Waymo One paid service to San Franciscans on June 25.

Then, the driverless ride-hailing service officially opened to anyone with the Waymo One app in Los Angeles on Nov. 12 of 2024. Before this, the company was only offering rides in LA to a limited group of passengers who were on a waiting list of more than 300,000 people.

While Waymo executives say the company's mission is to become "the world's most trusted driver" with safety at the forefront of their branding, the company has not gone without mishap.

Last May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into "unexpected driving behaviors" in Waymo vehicles. The agency began its probe into the company following 22 reports of crashes and potential traffic safety law violations. Nine other reports of unsafe driving behaviors were made soon after the investigation was opened.

Between July 2024 and February 2025, Waymo reported 38 crashes. Of those incidents, 34 were deemed the fault of the other drivers or pedestrians, Yahoo reported.

To date, Waymo offers rides in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin with plans to begin service soon in Miami and Washington D.C.