(Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Waymo's robotaxis are heading to Philadelphia, but you won't be able to ride in them just yet. The Alphabet-owned self-driving company's cars are coming to the "City of Brotherly Love, but only for mapping and testing to start.
"This city is a National Treasure. It’s a city of love, where eagles fly with a gritty spirit and cheese that spreads and cheese that steaks. Our road trip continues to Philly next," Waymo tweeted.
Waymo tells CNBC that all vehicles will have safety drivers behind the wheel for emergencies and complicated routes. The testing will generate mapping data to begin the process of adapting Waymo's tech to Philadelphia's roads.
“Folks will see our vehicles driving at all hours throughout various neighborhoods, from North Central to Eastwick, and from University City to as far east as the Delaware River,” Waymo says.
Waymo is also in New York City for a second wave of testing after initially driving routes in 2021. Four years of intermittent testing in the Big Apple may be a sign that a full rollout in Philadelphia could still be years away.
In January, Waymo told The Verge that it planned to begin testing in 10 new cities before the end of the year. At the time, the brand confirmed Las Vegas and San Diego were on its list of targets. Both of those cities now have ongoing tests.
Waymo's driverless cars are in Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, with plans to expand to Miami and Washington, DC next up on the list.
Waymo's rival Tesla debuted its long-awaited robotaxi service last month. The service began in Austin, Texas, in a limited capacity with around 20 vehicles on the roads and a safety monitor riding in the passenger seat of every vehicle.