Robotaxis Break Through Rider Resistance as Operators Vie for Dominance

The future is now. And while we may still need roads, robotaxis are enabling us to rely less on human drivers to get around. At least in major urban areas.

That shows how rapidly attitudes toward driverless cars have changed as tech and auto companies fought to conquer the market for self-operating cabs in the past year.

Cash Cabs

Humans entered 2025 not so sure about sharing the road with robots, let alone getting a ride from one. In February, a survey by AAA revealed 61% of Americans were “afraid” to travel in a driverless vehicle, while just 13% said they would trust a robo-ride (up from 9% the year before). But as robotaxi services expand across the country, they’re finding plenty of willing passengers.

According to a letter from investor Tiger Global viewed by CNBC earlier this month, Google’s Waymo — currently the biggest robotaxi fleet in the US market and active in Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and the San Francisco Bay area — is now providing 450,000 weekly paid trips, up from an estimated 250,000 in April. The service has provided more than 14 million paid trips this year, putting it on track for 20 million since launching in 2020, according to a statement.

Americans who remain wary of robotaxis, meanwhile, may not be concerned solely about personal safety: 

• A recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed vehicles using automated driving systems have experienced relatively few crashes this year; just 66 in the month of September, for instance. Meanwhile, Waymo’s robotaxis experienced 81 percent fewer crashes than humans would be expected to over the course of roughly 100 million miles driven so far.
• On the flip side, a report this summer from ride-share price comparison firm Obi found that the typical Waymo ride costs 41% more than a trip in a Lyft and 31% more than one in an Uber. Remember: Tip your humans, not your robots!

Drive To Survive: 2026 will no doubt be a bigger year for robotaxis than 2025. The Amazon-backed Zoox expects to scale beyond existing operations in San Francisco and Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Waymo expects to expand into major cities in Florida and Texas and to continue broadening highway access in existing markets. Tesla, on the other hand, is hitting more roadblocks. The company still employs human supervisors in its robotaxi pilot programs in San Francisco and Austin, and even with the chaperones, the robotaxis are experiencing crashes once every 62,000 miles, way more than Waymo, according to an analysis of NHTSA crash reporting data. Some in the industry have flagged Tesla’s camera-only self-driving systems; most of its rivals also use radar and lidar. Another reminder: Buckle up.