Waymo expands test drives to Chicago and Charlotte

Looking for a ride in a robotaxi? If you live in Chicago, Illinois and Charlotte, North Carolina, you may be able to ride around your city in an autonomous vehicle in the not so distant future.

According to a report in TechCrunch, apparently confirmed by locals who spotted the vehicles in their area, Waymo is currently conducting test drives in both cities.

Waymo's testing phase deploys Waymo vehicles with human drivers to cities where the Google-owned company is looking to roll out its ride-hailing service. During this phase, Waymo effectively gleans knowledge from the human drivers to best understand the lay of the land.

Local road conditions, traffic patterns, and edge cases are all analyzed and mapped out so that the autonomous vehicles are prepared for the location. After months of testing, Waymo will start testing the driverless version of the service. If all goes well, this will be followed by launching the full Waymo experience — where you hail a driverless car on the Waymo app — in the city. 

Earlier this month, Waymo completed the first phase of testing in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville will now see driverless taxis on its streets. Waymo testing is also underway in London, Washington DC, and Denver.

The full service is currently available in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Phoenix. Riders can also call a Waymo ride via an Uber partnership in Austin and Atlanta. Waymo is also currently rolling out in Orlando as well as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.

Waymo's ongoing expansion follows a financing round that raised $16 billion for the company.