Robotaxis as a new medium of public transportation in some U.S. cities

By Markos Papadatos
September 18, 2025
DIGITAL JOURNAL

Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco. Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Waymo, the American autonomous driving technology company, is teaming up with the tech transit startup Via where it will integrate its autonomous vehicles into city public transit networks. It is slated to start with the growing suburb of Phoenix, Arizona.
Robotaxis in Arizona

In the city of Chandler, Arizona, according to The Verge, Waymo’s robotaxis are expected to join the town’s Flex microtransit service.

According to Reuters, the service will be introduced “this fall in the city’s on-demand small-scale public transportation service, Chandler Flex, which is powered by Via’s software.”

Presently, travelers can book their rides via the local Flex app, where they can be picked up by a shared vehicle and subsequently are taken to their desired destination with the chance to connect to Valley Metro bus routes.

In the near future, travelers will be matched with Waymo’s fully autonomous vehicles as part of the service.
A cost-efficient option, which is also accessible for teenagers

This service is slated to fun from Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. with rides booked through Chandler Flex costing just two dollars for regular riders, one dollar for seniors and wheelchair users, and free for middle and high school kids.

Speaking of teenagers, Waymo introduced “teen accounts,” where teenagers in Phoenix (as young as 14 years old) can use this service without their parents.
Robotaxis in San Francisco

This isn’t Waymo’s first introduction into the public transit world. A year ago, it tested out a system to credit customers that use robotaxis to connect to or from transit stations in the San Francisco Bay Area; moreover, this company offered discounts to transit riders in the Los Angeles area.

Waymo also offers paid driverless rides to the public in Austin and Atlanta.

Daniel Ramot, Via’s co-founder and CEO, feels that this partnership with Waymo will help AVs (autonomous vehicles) to become accessible to millions of public transit riders, which will “enhance mobility, lower operating costs, and improve safety outcomes.”
Pros and cons of this autonomous vehicles (AV) feature

Some of the negatives of this feature are that some experts worry that autonomous vehicles might remove riders gradually from transit, which might lead to service cuts.

Also, most people that use ride-shares might not want to transfer to another mode of transportation, especially since they just want to get their destination in the fastest manner possible; moreover, regular transit users (who often tend to me more low-income) may experience difficulties affording rideshare trips.

The partnership has the potential to introduce more passengers to Waymo’s driverless technology. The idea of autonomous rides along a planned route for a low cost and a flat fare will certainly open up this new form of technology to a new portion of the population.
Alibaba enters the robotaxi market

In other robotaxi market news, Yahoo Finance reported that Alibaba Group Holding has jumped into the burgeoning robotaxi market by investing in Hello, a ride-hailing business. This is a bright and promising area for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Written By Markos Papadatos
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 23,000 original articles over the past 19 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.