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Waymo continues to add self-driving robotaxis<\/span><\/span> to more US cities. On Tuesday, the company announced its next location: Portland, Oregon. Portland will join Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando and a handful of other cities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Waymo hasn’t announced an official launch date, the company — which is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet — is sending human drivers out in its vehicles to familiarize its Waymo Driver technology with Portland’s streets.<\/p>\n The city’s mayor is on board.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We need every tool to help us meet our Vision Zero goals, and autonomous technology plays an increasingly important role in providing a safe, thriving, affordable multimodal transportation system,” said Keith Wilson, mayor of Portland, in Waymo’s press release. Vision Zero\u00a0is a Portland program aimed at eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries.<\/p>\n In the press release, Waymo said that it believes Portland’s independent spirit and sense of community make the city a fitting place for Waymo’s expansion. Some of those independent community members, though, have different opinions.<\/p>\n According to Oregon Live, opposition to Waymo’s plans centers on safety, accessibility, the potential for human ride-hailing drivers to lose income and the need for permits to drive autonomous cars on Portland streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Waymo representative told CNET that the company seeks a formal statewide regulatory system authorizing its technology before beginning public service. For this, the company will follow its own safety framework and must obtain the necessary permits.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Waymo, its technology has a serious-injury crash rate about 13 times lower than that of human drivers in the cities where it operates.<\/p>\n Oregon Live reports\u00a0that city records show that Waymo spent thousands of dollars lobbying Portland city officials in late 2025. That may have smoothed the way for a proposed bill\u00a0that would have allowed self-driving vehicles in Oregon without a license or permit. That bill failed to pass.<\/p>\n Uber’s 2014 entrance into Portland also\u00a0met opposition.<\/p>\n According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, the Portland City Council is considering a measure that would raise pay for Uber and Lyft drivers, reducing the companies’ own profits. If that proposal passes, both companies have said they’d leave the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nOpposition to Waymo in Portland<\/h2>\n
Portland’s history with new transportation services<\/h2>\n