Robotaxi Services Compete on Price and Safety Records

Robotaxi providers are expanding operations and competing on pricing and safety performance as autonomous ride services increase in several U.S. cities.

Waymo, a major operator in the sector, reported delivering 15 million driverless rides in 2025 and currently provides about 400,000 rides each week. The company’s autonomous vehicles are active in cities such as Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta, and Miami, with further expansion planned for 2026 to locations including Dallas, Denver, Washington D.C., London, and Tokyo.

In San Francisco, the average fare for a Waymo driverless ride is about $8.17, which is less than half the average price of a human-driven Uber ride at $17.25. This pricing difference is part of ongoing competition among ride service providers as they seek to attract more riders to autonomous vehicles.

Safety records remain a focus for both regulators and companies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recorded 1,429 incidents involving Waymo vehicles since 2021, which included 117 injuries and two fatalities. In May 2025, Waymo issued a software recall for approximately 1,200 robotaxis after minor collisions with gates and similar objects.

What the numbers show

• Waymo reported 80% fewer crashes with any injury and 91% fewer with serious injuries over nearly 100 million autonomous miles
• In a study of 25.3 million miles, Waymo had 88% fewer property damage claims than human drivers
• Tesla’s robotaxi crash rate in Austin is about four times higher than human drivers

Waymo has stated that its robotaxis experience about 80% fewer crashes than human-driven vehicles. Data from a study covering nearly 100 million autonomous miles through July 2025 indicated that Waymo vehicles had 80% fewer injury crashes and 91% fewer crashes resulting in serious or worse injuries compared to human drivers.

Additional research covering 25.3 million fully autonomous miles across four cities found that Waymo vehicles had 88% fewer property damage claims and 92% fewer bodily injury claims than those involving human drivers. The company’s vehicles also achieved up to 96% reduction in injury crashes at intersections, 92% fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians, and 82% fewer involving cyclists and motorcyclists.

Comparisons with other providers show differences in safety performance. Tesla’s robotaxi fleet in Austin has a crash rate of about one incident every 62,500 miles, while Waymo’s rate is one per 98,600 miles. In Austin, Tesla robotaxis have experienced a crash rate roughly four times higher than human drivers, with one crash per 57,000 miles compared to one per 229,000 miles for human-operated vehicles.

Waymo’s expansion and operational data reflect ongoing industry efforts to improve both cost and safety for autonomous ride services. The company continues to monitor and adjust its fleet in response to incident data and regulatory oversight.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.