# Waymo Opens Its Sixth-Gen Ojai Robotaxis to Select Riders in LA, Phoenix, and San Francisco **Source:** https://glitchwire.com/news/waymo-opens-its-sixth-gen-ojai-robotaxis-to-select-riders-in-la-phoenix-and-san/ **Published:** 2026-05-28T16:41:46.970Z **Author:** Tech Desk · Glitchwire **Categories:** Tech, AI ## Summary Alphabet's autonomous driving unit begins offering public rides in its purpose-built Zeekr van, cutting sensor count by 42% while enabling winter operations. ## Article Waymo is opening its new Ojai robotaxi to select public riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix starting today, with free rides available for a limited time. The rollout marks the first public deployment of the company's sixth-generation Waymo Driver hardware and the clearest signal yet that Alphabet's autonomous driving unit has moved beyond the demonstration phase. The Ojai is the first Waymo vehicle designed from the outset as a robotaxi rather than a retrofit of an existing consumer car. Built by Zeekr in Ningbo, China, and shipped to Waymo's Mesa, Arizona facility for sensor integration, the van-style vehicle features horizontally sliding doors, a flat floor with a low step-in height, and an interior built for passengers who won't be driving. Three adaptive screens for rear passengers, automatic doors, and accessibility features like braille markings and grab bars suggest Waymo is thinking seriously about the operational realities of running a public transit service. ![Waymo Opens Its Sixth-Gen Ojai Robotaxis to Select Riders in LA, Phoenix, and San Francisco — image 1 of 3](https://cdn.glitchwire.com/waymo-ojai3.jpg) *Image Credit: Waymo* ![Waymo Opens Its Sixth-Gen Ojai Robotaxis to Select Riders in LA, Phoenix, and San Francisco — image 2 of 3](https://cdn.glitchwire.com/waymo-ojai2.png) *Image Credit: Waymo* ![Waymo Opens Its Sixth-Gen Ojai Robotaxis to Select Riders in LA, Phoenix, and San Francisco — image 3 of 3](https://cdn.glitchwire.com/waymo-ojai1.png) *Image Credit: Waymo* ## The Hardware Economics Have Changed The real advancement is under the skin. The sixth-generation Waymo Driver cuts the sensor count by 42 percent compared to the previous system running on Waymo's Jaguar I-PACE fleet. The array now consists of 13 cameras (down from 29), four lidars (down from five), and six radar units. Despite the reduction, Waymo claims the new system sees better and farther thanks to a breakthrough 17-megapixel imager and upgraded lidar with improved weather penetration. Waymo is targeting a hardware cost below $20,000 per unit, which would represent a dramatic reduction from earlier generations. Industry estimates peg the all-in cost of a fully equipped Ojai at roughly $50,000 to $55,000, compared to approximately $150,000 for the I-PACE. That math matters. At those numbers, Waymo can deploy three vehicles for the same capital outlay. The Ojai's 800-volt electrical architecture and 93 kWh lithium-ion battery are optimized for fleet operations requiring rapid turnaround between rides. Certification documents show a rear-mounted motor producing 268 horsepower. No official range figures have been published, but for a robotaxi that never leaves its mapped service area, charging speed matters more than headline range numbers. ## Weather Has Been the Constraint Waymo's critics have long pointed to two weaknesses: hardware costs and weather limitations. The sixth-gen system attempts to address both. The sensor pods include dedicated wipers, sprayers, and heaters designed to keep cameras and lidars clear in rain, snow, and fog. This opens the door to markets that Waymo previously couldn't serve, including Chicago, Detroit, and other northeastern cities where winter conditions would have grounded earlier hardware. The company plans to expand Ojai availability to San Diego, Las Vegas, and Denver this summer, with thousands of the vehicles on the road by year-end. Waymo already operates about 100 Ojais as part of its nearly 4,000-vehicle fleet. The Arizona factory is scaling toward a capacity of tens of thousands of units annually, beginning with the Ojai and followed by [Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/waymo-begins-deploying-next-gen-ojai-robotaxis-to-extend-its-us-lead.html) running the same sixth-gen stack. > Our fleet is expanding! ✨ Meet Ojai, powered by our sixth-gen Waymo Driver. Welcoming riders soon in LA, Phoenix, and San Francisco. [pic.twitter.com/JwZYYj1qoi](https://t.co/JwZYYj1qoi)— Waymo (@Waymo) [May 28, 2026](https://x.com/Waymo/status/2060013225006010467?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ## Scale Is the Differentiator Waymo now covers more than 1,400 square miles across 11 U.S. cities and delivers roughly 500,000 paid rides per week. The company has surpassed 20 million fully autonomous trips to date and is targeting 1 million weekly rides by year-end. In February, [Waymo raised $16 billion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo) at a $126 billion valuation, the largest investment ever in an autonomous vehicle company. That capital is going directly into expansion. Beyond the initial three cities, Waymo plans to launch in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, and Washington in 2026, plus London and Tokyo internationally. The contrast with competitors remains stark. Tesla's robotaxi service operates roughly 44 vehicles across three Texas cities, most still requiring safety drivers. Baidu's Apollo Go has scale in China, but no U.S. presence. The Ojai's use of a Chinese-manufactured base vehicle has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers. At a recent Senate hearing, Senator Bernie Moreno questioned whether Waymo was "getting in bed with China." Waymo has stated that Zeekr provides only base vehicles and receives no access to autonomous driving technology, sensor data, or rider information. For riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, the policy debates are probably less interesting than the practical question: does the thing work? Waymo's safety data shows a 90 percent reduction in serious injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers across 127 million miles. Whether that record holds as the fleet scales from thousands to tens of thousands of vehicles is the test that matters now. Waymo's [regulatory track record](/news/the-faas-evtol-pilot-program-turns-electric-aviation-from-promise-into-policy/) in new transportation categories offers some precedent, but robotaxis operating in snow across 20 cities is a different challenge than anything the company has attempted before. --- **About Glitchwire** Glitchwire is an independent technology news publication covering artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, science, security, policy, finance, and the broader technology industry. 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