Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Waymo One app expanded its robotaxi rides to everyone in Los Angeles (LA) yesterday. Now, anyone and everyone, including 300,000 Angelenos who have been on Waymo’s waiting list for long, will be able to take Waymo’s autonomous ride within the 80 square miles area of LA. This expansion will strengthen Waymo One’s position in its third-largest market, behind Phoenix and San Francisco.
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Waymo’s Efforts to Expand in Robotaxi Market
Waymo commenced limited ride offerings in LA eight months back. The waiting list grew to over 300,000 people over time. The autonomous ride-hailing service provider has already roped in several drivers in LA. However, currently, Waymo One rides will be available only for surface streets, leaving out the massive freeways that connect several important parts of the Hollywood city. In San Francisco and Phoenix too, Waymo is still in testing mode on freeways and serves only the surface roads.
Waymo also disclosed that it is seeing over 150,000 paid rides per week across the three markets it operates in, way up from the 100,000 paid rides per week recorded in August. Importantly, with the addition of LA, Waymo hopes to boost the number manyfold as it starts serving more than 3.8 million residents in the county.
Waymo’s Competitive Position
Waymo has been rapidly expanding its services in target markets backed by additional funding. In October, Waymo raised $5.6 billion in a series C funding round, led by parent Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, and other initial investors.
Waymo has also partnered with ride-hailing service Uber (UBER) to expand its robotaxi service in Austin in 2025. Furthermore, it entered into a partnership with Hyundai to include the Ioniq 5 electric vehicles (EV) in its robotaxi fleet. The company says that the Waymo One app has seen success with solo women travelers and kids who feel unsafe traveling with unknown drivers. The robotaxi landscape is highly regulated and faces intense competition from normal ride-hailing service providers such as Uber and Lyft (LYFT). As of date, Waymo is believed to be a leader in the autonomous robotaxi industry in the U.S.
Is GOOGL Stock a Good Buy?
Analysts are highly optimistic about Alphabet stock’s trajectory. On TipRanks, GOOGL stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 27 Buys and seven Hold ratings. The average Alphabet Class A price target of $207.75 implies 14.4% upside potential from current levels. Year-to-date, GOOGL shares have gained 30.3%.
