Waymo Plans Tokyo Robotaxi Service With Nihon Kotsu And GO For 2027
The plan ties Waymo's Tokyo rollout to the two conditions it set itself, national and local permits and completed verification of the autonomous driving system and operations, so the 2027 date reads as a target gated by regulators rather than a scheduled launch.
Reporting from 1 source: ASCII.jp.
Waymo announced jointly with Nihon Kotsu and GO that it plans to commercialize an unmanned self-driving ride-hailing service in Tokyo in 2027, aiming for fully autonomous operation with general passengers. Rides would be callable from both the GO and Waymo apps. The service starts with a small number of vehicles and expands gradually to about 100 in major areas of Tokyo. The 2027 launch is not finalized.
Waymo has been driving in Tokyo since 2025, with trained Nihon Kotsu operators in the driver's seat while it adapts its Waymo Driver system to the city's narrow roads and traffic. The commercial service would remove that operator and run fully autonomously.
In the GO app, users would be able to call Waymo self-driving cars alongside conventional staffed taxis. The companies describe an on-demand service running 24 hours a day that coexists with regular taxis, starting small and growing to roughly 100 vehicles in major areas of Tokyo.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- ASCII.jp Waymoの自動運転タクシーが東京へ GOアプリから呼べるように