Waymo's robotaxis headed to Nashville

Robotaxi leader Waymo on Wednesday announced that its driverless vehicles will begin transporting passengers in Nashville, Tennessee, next year while heading in a new direction by teaming up with Lyft instead of its recent ride-hailing partner Uber

Robotaxi leader Waymo on Wednesday announced that its driverless vehicles will begin transporting passengers in Nashville, Tennessee, next year while heading in a new direction by teaming up with Lyft instead of its recent ride-hailing partner Uber.

The Nashville plan calls for robotaxi ride requests to initially be limited to Waymo’s own mobile app before expanding on to Lyft’s app later next year.

Waymo’s decision to work with Lyft in Tennessee’s biggest city means its robotaxis will now be available on the apps of the two largest ride-hailing services in the U.S.

As part of earlier expansions, Waymo is already dispatching robotaxis through Uber’s app in Atlanta and Austin, Texas. Electric automaker Tesla has been testing a limited driverless service in Austin in an attempt to fulfill an ambitious plan that CEO Elon Musk has been pursuing for the past decade.

Even if it’s in only one city, getting Waymo’s industry-leading robotaxis on its app could help Lyft continue its recovery from the pandemic restrictions that decimated demand for rides. Uber bounced back from the pandemic more quickly, a comeback that has been reflected in both its financial results and market value, which has tripled since the end of 2019. Lyft’s stock price, in contrast, remains about 50% below where it stood at the end of 2019. As part of its turnaround efforts, Lyft hired former Amazon executive David Risher as its CEO two years ago.