Uber To Expand Autonomous Ride-Hailing To Austin And Atlanta

Uber (NYSE: UBER) says it is expanding autonomous ride-hailing to two more cities.

Uber announced Friday that it will manage and dispatch a fleet of Waymo's fully autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in Austin and Atlanta starting in early 2025.

The company says riders who request an UberX, Uber Green,

Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric may be matched with a Waymo for qualifying trips.

Waymo and Uber have already offered autonomous vehicle rides in Phoenix for tens of thousands of rides.

"Waymo's mission is to be the world's most trusted driver, and we're excited to launch this expanded network and operations partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta to bring the benefits of fully autonomous driving to more riders," said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO, Waymo.

As part of the partnership, Uber provides fleet management services including vehicle cleaning, repair and other general operations.

The companies say Waymo will continue to be responsible for the testing and operation of the Waymo Driver, including roadside assistance and certain rider support functions.

Waymo also has fully autonomous ride-hailing in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It says it has carried out more than two million rider-only trips.

Uber and Waymo choice of Austin may put them in competition with Elon Musk's planned autonomous Telsa service.