Waymo in Chicago? Autonomous rideshare company confirms ‘laying the groundwork’ in The Windy City

After Chicago residents began posting images of Waymo vehicles being unloaded on the city’s streets, the autonomous rideshare company confirmed it is exploring expanding its network to the Second City. However, an obstacle currently stands in the way of that deployment.

Waymo continues to support the argument that it is the leader in autonomous rideshare capabilities in the US, despite Tesla’s claims. The Google subsidiary recently began deploying its 6th-generation “Driver” system on public roads.

This latest system was designed with greater modularity to accommodate multiple EV platforms, such as the Zeekr-built “Ojai” EV and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 (part of an agreement announced earlier this month). Aside from expanding its proprietary technology, Waymo continues to expand its public reach into new US cities, though most remain in the testing and mapping stages.

Yesterday, Waymo announced the start of public rides in four additional cities, including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. Meanwhile, up North, Waymo was apparently gearing up for testing in Chicago, and several onlookers snapped pictures and posted to social media.

Local Chicago news outlets picked up the story and confirmed that Waymo is indeed beginning to “lay the groundwork” for operations in the area… but there’s a significant hurdle in its way.

Waymo shares expansion plans for Chicago and Charlotte

After several social media posts showed Waymo-equipped autonomous vehicles on Chicago streets, the network officially confirmed the plans in a post this morning. That new city alert was joined by news of an additional expansion to Charlotte, North Carolina.

While several news outlets, like CBS, have confirmed the plans, along with a written statement from Waymo itself, there are currently no regulations in place to allow for true driverless rides in Chicago, or the state of Illinois, for that matter. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said his office was informed of Waymo’s rollout but that there would be no autonomous operations deployed in Chicago. Here’s a statement from the Mayor’s office:

There is no law or regulatory framework which prohibits any licensed individual from driving in Chicago. As of now, autonomous vehicles have not been authorized within the City of Chicago or the State of Illinois. 

The City looks forward to engaging with commuters, workers, transit advocates and industry leaders as we pursue constructive dialogue with our partners in Springfield and pursue an equitable path forward.

So while Waymo has made its presence known in Chicago, any testing or mapping will be done with drivers (humans, not the ADAS system) behind the wheel. This is usually how Waymo begins testing in new cities. Still, the lack of regulatory approval for driverless rideshare will need to be resolved before we actually see driverless rideshare options in Chicago.

To recap, here’s where Waymo currently offers public rides, and where it is looking to potentially expand, revised to include the recent announcement of Chicago and Charlotte:

Waymo Public Service Cities

• Atlanta, GA
• Austin, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• Orlando, FL
• Miami, FL
• Phoenix, AZ
• San Antonio, TX
• San Francisco (Bay Area), CA

Waymo Testing/Expansion Cities

• Baltimore, MD
• Boston, MA
• Charlotte, NC
• Chicago, IL
• Detroit, MI
• Denver, CO
• Las Vegas, NV
• New Orleans, LA
• Nashville, TN
• New York, NY
• Philadelphia, PA
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Sacramento, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Seattle, WA
• St. Louis, MO
• Washington, DC