Waymo, alphabet subsidiary, which currently offers robot rides in 11 U.S. subways, says it is ready for the FIFA World Cup. Game attendees can take advantage of driverless rides to six of 16 venues in North America: stadiums in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The sprawling soccer event, which is expected to attract some 6.5 million visitors to the continent over more than a month, could prove to be an electrifying close-up for Waymo. The company claims to handle half a million paid rides a week – a paltry amount compared to passenger transportation giants Uber and Lyft, but more impressive when you remember that these vehicles have no drivers.
Waymo plans to offer services in another 20 markets this year alone, with international expansion in London and Tokyo on the horizon. Meanwhile, the Waymo app is available in app stores in 13 countries, including Germany, the UK, India and Japan, and in 15 different languages. For travelers who have not yet ridden in robots in China, this event will likely be their first opportunity to ride without a driver.
The World Cup could also lead to some high-profile stumbles. Between triumphant service expansions, Waymo has had a miserable spring so far. Due to its situation, it was forced to close services in several markets cars had difficulty coping with flooded streets (a problem that has already happened led to a nationwide recall of the software). In May, Waymo also suspended highway rides, which had allowed passengers to get to some destinations faster since slow last year. The company says it is concerned about the performance of its vehicles respond around construction zones. Waymo spokeswoman Sandy Karp says the company is working with local authorities to prepare for the World Cup and associated events.
If all goes according to plan, the Waymo World Cup – the first autonomous vehicle World Cup – should look very similar to other World Cups. Autonomous cars promise many things: they give people who can’t get a driving license recent opportunities for mobility; change the economics of travel; put drivers out of work. But when it comes to special events, driverless cars face the same limitations as driverless cars. Thousands of people want to reach and leave a given place at the same time. After all, there are only so many ways to go.
“There will never be a perfectly orderly process without traffic congestion,” says Adam Millard-Ball, a professor of urban planning at the University of California, Luskin School of Public Affairs in Los Angeles. “Geometrically, you won’t be able to have pickup trucks at everyone’s door.” The future is many things, but no traffic is not one of them.
It’s the same problem that other types of cars have. And that’s why pickup and drop-off for Waymo’s closely related cousins, Uber and Lyft, looks the way it does. Since formerly gray-market taxicabs began popping up across the United States in the slow 2000s, several cities and institutions – including airports and stadiums – have found ways to “tame,” if not control, transportation demand. It used to be that the standard airport Uber picked up each person at the curb, right outside the baggage claim area. Currently, most airports direct passengers to specialized parking lots.
Same with stadiums. In fact, several of these special hail pickup zones are currently served by Waymos. “The city of Santa Clara is currently working with rideshare companies to establish service areas around Levi’s Stadium on event days,” Santa Clara Police Lt. Eric Lagergren told WIRED in an email, “on event days that take place here, including the approximately eight 49ers home games that take place each season.” “Santa Clara’s ridesharing and public transportation locations will remain active for all 2026 FIFA World Cup matches hosted in the city of Santa Clara,” he said. Same program, different sporting event.