Riding Waymo in San Francisco: What a Driverless Taxi Is Actually Like

I've now used Waymo - Google's driverless car service - in San Francisco, Los Angeles and, most recently, Nashville, where the robotaxis have just landed. It runs a proper commercial taxi fleet with no safety driver in the front seat, and the whole thing was easier, smoother and stranger than I expected. Here's how it works and what it's actually like.

What Waymo Is

Waymo's fleet is mostly white Jaguar I-PACE electric SUVs, bristling with lidar and radar, driving around San Francisco with nobody up front. You hail one in the app like an Uber, watch it drive itself to you, and ride in the back while the steering wheel does its own thing. It's been running as a real paid service in San Francisco since 2023 - the world's biggest driverless taxi operation:

Hailing the Car

Download the Waymo One app, put in a destination, and it quotes a price and arrival time like any rideshare. Before the car even arrives you can set your comfort preferences in the app - the air conditioning and the music or vibes you want playing - so it's already how you like it when you climb in. That matters more than you'd think, because the cars are all identical: a fleet of white Jaguar I-PACEs, which is why the Waymo app flashes your name on the roof display as it pulls up, so there's no confusion over which white SUV is yours. I stood watching an empty car with flashing indicators slot neatly into the kerb, and it's genuinely surreal the first time. You unlock it in the app, and it greets you by name on the screen.

Inside: Pick a Vibe

The rear cabin is where it gets fun. It's a proper Jaguar interior - leather, quiet, plenty of legroom - and far more comfortable than any regular rideshare I've been picked up in. There's a touchscreen in front of the back seats where you set radio stations or vibes - ambient sounds, pop, whatever suits - and control the temperature. Three people fit comfortably across the back, and the front seats are where three more could sit - except that, of course, you're not allowed in the driver's seat. That row stays empty, seatbelts and all, purely as a reminder that nobody is driving:

The screen up front shows a live 360-degree view of what the car sees - pedestrians, cyclists, traffic - all rendered in real time. Watching the world through the car's eyes is half the entertainment:

Watching the Wheel Steer Itself

This is the moment you'll remember. No driver, no hands - the wheel just turns by itself as the car glides through intersections, makes confident left turns across traffic, and reads the city's hills and tram tracks without a wobble:

By the second turn you've stopped marvelling and started scrolling your phone, which is somehow the most impressive part: it went from science fiction to completely ordinary inside one ride.

What It Costs

It's priced like a normal rideshare - my night-time ride across the city cost roughly what an Uber would, give or take. There are no tips, no surge surprises, and the price is quoted upfront in the app. For a novelty that's also genuinely practical, it's easy value; I ended up using it again the same week.

Not Just San Francisco Anymore

Waymo started in Phoenix, and San Francisco was the city that made robotaxis famous - but the map keeps growing. I've now ridden them in San Francisco, Los Angeles and, most recently, Nashville, where the service has just launched, and the experience is the same everywhere: hail in the app, hop in the back, no driver. New cities are announced regularly, so if Waymo hasn't reached yours yet, it's probably coming.

Is It Safe?

It felt it. The car is cautious to a fault - it keeps distance, obeys the limits, and handles the chaos of San Francisco's intersections better than a lot of human drivers I've watched in the same city. There's no one in the front seat to ask questions, but there's 24/7 remote support and a help button in the cabin. And honestly, it feels safer than an Uber or Lyft ever has: there's nobody else in the car - no stranger driver, no wondering who's behind you - which changes the whole feel of a ride late at night. It also removes the awkward parts of a regular rideshare: no small talk if you're not in the mood, and no tipping at the end. The one thing to know: pickup and drop-off points are sometimes a short walk from your exact address, so the app may have you cross the street to a safe kerb.

Should You Try It?

If you're visiting San Francisco, yes - it's as much a city attraction as the cable cars, and it's actually useful. Save it for a night ride across town, put the vibes on, and enjoy the future quietly driving itself around you. It pairs perfectly with an evening at the House of Prime Rib - the car does the driving on Van Ness, you do the Yorkshire pudding.

Final Thoughts

Waymo is the most San Francisco thing I did on my last trip, and that's saying something in a city full of cable cars and sea lions. The technology works, the price is fair, and the strangeness wears off in minutes - which is exactly why it feels like a glimpse of everywhere else in ten years. My San Francisco travel guide covers the rest of the city.

More from California: California Travel Guide, Salvation Mountain and East Jesus, and the United States Travel Guide.