Waymo is on the way to Denver, the autonomous-driving technology company said Tuesday.
The Silicon Valley company, a subsidiary of Alphabet and formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, will be one of first driverless car services to hit the road in Colorado, at least for ride-hailing passengers. The company is already offering rides to customers in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco.
But for locals hoping to hail a ride soon, that’s not happening just yet, Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp said.
“We won’t be serving riders right away,” Karp said in an email. “We’re beginning with an exploratory phase to understand Denver’s unique driving environment while engaging with local officials and community partners.”
While there’s no ETA, Karp did say service in Denver is expected by next year and will include the metro area. Part of the “exploratory” phase is to work with communities where the service will be offered. That includes local policymakers and first responders.
Colorado passed a law in 2017, Senate Bill 213, to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads statewide as long as the vehicles follow driving laws. And many companies have tested their vehicles in the state ever since.
In 2016, Colorado became a test site for Otto, a self-driving truck maker owned by Uber at the time, that made history with its 132-mile trip between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. Uber later exited the business, though Uber now partners with companies like Waymo for self-driving rides where available.
Another company, EasyMile, was testing its autonomous shuttle near the Panasonic headquarters by the airport in 2017.
But it’s taken years for passenger service to arrive in Colorado, mainly because this is pretty advanced technology. Companies, like Embark Trucks and GM’s Cruise, were testing in California and elsewhere but have since suspended operations or shut down. Safety concerns and accidents have also been issues that are closely being followed by consumer advocates.
Waymo began offering customer rides in 2020 in Phoenix. Tesla began offering test rides on its robotaxis this summer, and recently got a ride-hailing permit for its driverless service Austin, Texas.
Plans for Colorado
Waymo’s current push — it previously announced Washington, D.C., and also announced Tuesday that service in Seattle is on the way — is about moving into areas with winter weather.
The vehicles rolling out in Denver will have fifth- and sixth-generation technology, which is “more robust in winter weather conditions,” she said. Sensors automatically detect winter elements and use wipers to clean off windows and the sensors.
Two types of cars will be used in Denver, the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE with the fifth-gen Waymo Driver and Zeekr RT vehicles with 6th-gen technology. They’ll be easy to spot with cameras and lidar technology on the roof scanning the streets at 360-degrees. They also have external audio receivers to detect things like railroad crossings.
To start, the company plans to have about a dozen vehicles and will have humans behind the wheel but not driving as the cars move around the Denver metro area. As safety and validation tests are passed, it will move to a fully autonomous service with no human in the driver’s seat.
Customers will be able to hail a ride through an app, much like Lyft and Uber customers. Prices are expected to be “competitive,” according to the company. Waymo’s driverless service tends to be more expensive than Lyft and Uber by 30%-40%, according to a TechCrunch story.
This story was updated on Sept. 4, 2025 to add more history about driverless vehicles in Colorado.