Waymo, the autonomous driving unit of Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), began offering public passenger rides in its new Ojai robotaxi on 28 May 2026, inviting select riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The pale-blue vehicles operate without human supervision, with trips offered free of charge during the initial rollout phase. Waymo said it will gradually expand access to more riders and cities following the launch.

The Ojai is built by Zeekr (ZK), the electric vehicle brand owned by Geely Holding Group (GELYY), and outfitted with Waymo's autonomous driving hardware at the company's factory in Arizona. It debuts Waymo's 6th-generation Driver autonomous system and carries a sensor suite comprising 13 cameras, six radars, four LiDAR units, and external audio receivers. The vehicle also features a flat floor, low step-in height, braille markings, and grab bars designed to improve accessibility for riders with disabilities.

Waymo first struck a partnership with Zeekr in 2021, and showed off a concept of the purpose-built robotaxi in 2022 at an event in Los Angeles. The vehicle is based on Zeekr's SEA-M architecture and was developed exclusively for Waymo's fleet. It was publicly unveiled under the Ojai name at CES 2026. Waymo rebranded the vehicle from its original Zeekr RT designation because, according to spokesperson Chris Bonelli, the US public is not familiar with the Zeekr brand [Source: TechCrunch].

The Ojai launch follows several months of testing with non-employee passengers. Waymo currently operates in five cities and has stated ambitions to expand into more than 20 additional cities this year, with previously announced plans including Minneapolis, London, Tokyo, and possibly New York City. The company still has approximately 1,000 Jaguar I-Pace EVs on order, which could remain in service alongside the new Ojai fleet for years. Waymo recently paused service in several markets after its systems encountered difficulties detecting flooded roads.

Sources: Bloomberg, The Verge, Wired, Electrek, Drive Tesla Canada, TechCrunch, InsideEVs