North Carolina: Waymo Opens Talks to Bring Driverless Taxis to Raleigh and Durham in the Research Triangle
Raleigh, Wake County, and Durham, Durham County, North Carolina — The Research Triangle may be next for driverless taxis: Alphabet's Waymo was reported on Oct. 30 to be in discussions with local officials about bringing its autonomous ride-hailing service to Raleigh and Durham.
Waymo has already confirmed plans to launch its self-driving platform in Charlotte by the end of 2027, and the Triangle talks are the next step in its North Carolina expansion; the two sides discussed a Triangle expansion at a transportation summit in October 2026. Waymo says its system has completed 270 million miles of fully autonomous driving, using a sensor suite of lidar, radar, cameras and microphones.
Residents of Raleigh and Durham may in the future gain a new travel option built around autonomous driving rather than traditional ride-hailing. Cruise began mapping streets in Raleigh and Charlotte as early as 2023, but Waymo's entry would make the Triangle a new focus of North Carolina's autonomous driving competition. Talks between local officials and Waymo remain at an early stage, and no launch date or coverage area has been announced.
Source: GSM·America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：罗利市政厅外景。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（北卡罗来纳州档案馆公开藏品，无限制），GSM固定图库。 / Photo: Raleigh City Hall, via Wikimedia Commons (State Archives of North Carolina, no restrictions), GSM fixed library.
