Fri Nov 21 09:20:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary and a rewritten news article based on the provided text:

Summary:

Waymo is expanding its robotaxi service aggressively. It plans to begin manual testing in Minneapolis, Tampa, and New Orleans, aiming for driverless service launches in those cities as early as 2026. This expansion follows a recent announcement of driverless launches planned for Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami, and Orlando in the coming weeks. Waymo is also adding freeway routes in existing markets like San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. The company is working on handling challenging winter conditions, targeting Minneapolis, Denver and Detroit. Waymo currently operates in several major cities, providing over 250,000 weekly paid trips and having completed over 10 million paid rides since 2020. In other news, Amazon-owned Zoox has expanded its driverless service to San Francisco, planning to fully open access in 2026.

News Article:

Waymo Gears Up for Major Robotaxi Expansion, Targets Minneapolis, Tampa, New Orleans

MENLO PARK, CA – Waymo, the autonomous driving technology company owned by Alphabet, is aggressively expanding its robotaxi footprint. The company announced Thursday it will begin manually driven test runs in Minneapolis, Tampa, and New Orleans with the goal of launching fully driverless robotaxi services in those cities as early as 2026.

This move would bring Waymo’s total planned expansion to 15 cities by 2026. Just days earlier, Waymo announced plans to begin driverless operations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami, and Orlando in the coming weeks, with public access targeted for next year.

“2026 is very much on the table, but we’ll be led by our safety framework,” said Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher.

Waymo already operates commercial robotaxi services in Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, providing over 250,000 paid rides weekly and exceeding 10 million total rides since 2020. Recently, the company began offering freeway routes in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, expanding its service to more complex driving environments.

The expansion into Minneapolis signals Waymo’s commitment to tackling challenging winter weather conditions. The company also intends to implement services in Denver and Detroit, where snowy and icy conditions are common. “We currently operate at freezing temperatures, including with frost and hail, and we’re validating our system to navigate harsher weather conditions,” Teicher explained. “We’ll have small fleets to start that we expand over time.”

The push for autonomous driving dominance is heating up. Amazon-owned Zoox has recently opened its driverless service to select users in San Francisco, joining Las Vegas as its second operational city. Zoox plans to remove its rider waitlist for San Francisco in 2026.

Waymo’s rapid expansion and its focus on overcoming weather-related hurdles demonstrate the company’s confidence in its technology and its ambition to become a leading player in the autonomous transportation industry.

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