San Francisco Is Proof: Self-Driving Cars Are Changing the Way Tourists Explore Cities

Hailing a ride from an autonomous vehicle (AV) has long felt like a far-off future. Yet in some cities it’s become a reality, and travelers are finding self-driving cars are one of the easiest ways to get around. Industry leader Waymo, which operates in several US cities including Phoenix, Austin, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles, now has the data to prove that visitors are embracing the technology. The company announced Wednesday that its services in the Bay Area have generated nearly $40M in economic activity for the region over the past year, including servicing travelers to and from San Francisco International Airport and around the city’s urban core.

“Waymo enhances San Francisco’s and Los Angeles’ reputations as exciting, innovative destinations with its cutting-edge, fully autonomous vehicles visible on each city’s streets,” said California Travel Association President and CEO Barb Newton in a press release. “Its safe, seamless, high-quality ride-hailing experience for both visitors and residents makes California an even better travel destination.”

This economic impact is currently limited to those four cities where Waymo currently operates, with Atlanta forthcoming. But the data suggests that users are embracing AVs once they try one out and get over the fear of the unknown – and the trend looks likely to spread globally.

What the immediate future looks like for autonomous ridesharing

Photo: Phil Pasquini/Shutterstock

March 2025 has been big for Waymo. Earlier this week, the company announced it will expand its proprietary Waymo One service in the Bay Area to include Silicon Valley. This followed news earlier this month that Uber rider in Austin can be paired with a Waymo One vehicle instead of a traditional Uber driver, if they wish. The partnership between the two companies looks to grow steadfast throughout 2025, with Waymo service available via Uber in Atlanta set to launch in the coming months.

According to recent reports from Waymo, visitors are increasingly incorporating Waymo rides into their travel plans to reach popular attractions, business districts, and hotels. In San Francisco, where Waymo One launched commercially in August 2023, tourist usage has grown by more than 10 percent weekly, with top drop-off destinations including the Hyatt Regency Downtown Soma and the Fairmont San Francisco, as well as the airport and popular tourist sites throughout the city.

In its first year of commercial operations, Waymo-facilitated visitor trips in San Francisco contributed nearly $40 million in additional economic activity, driven by both direct spending on rides and secondary economic impacts throughout the region. Looking ahead, projections released by Waymo and its study partner AECOM suggest that as Waymo scales operations and integrates airport access, its economic impact could expand significantly, particularly in LA, where upcoming major events – the 2028 Olympics, most importantly – are expected to drive demand. Overall, AV usage is already reshaping the cities where it is available. Waymo and competitors including Cruise, Tesla, and Motional have big plans to scale operations around the country and internationally.

The Matador take

Do you see the ghost? Photo: Tim Wenger

I visited Phoenix in May of last year to report on Waymo’s progress in the city. At the time, Phoenix was by far the largest service area in which Waymo operated, and although I was excited (and a little nervous) to ride in a driverless car for the first time, I expected the experience to be underwhelming. It took less than two minutes from being picked up by a Waymo One at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for my opinion to drastically shift. The experience was super smooth – the car was booked via the Waymo One app much like I was accustomed to when booking an Uber. The car arrived about 10 minutes later, I got in, buckled up, and took off.

Over the next two days I witnessed what I now believe to be the next great revolution in global urban transportation, with huge implications for travelers. I’ve long been a fan of ridesharing because it takes the onus off me to get where I’m going – I can focus on other things like checking emails or Slack, cut costs (owning, maintaining, insuring, and fueling a gas-powered vehicle can cost more in many urban centers than ridesharing twice per day), and shed all liability in the case of an accident. Not to mention ridesharing removes the need for a traveler to provide to a driver directions to their destination in a city they don’t know or to negotiate fares in a local currency and culture they haven’t learned the ins and outs of, as is often the case with taxis and other ground transportation.

More than a decade of hailing rideshares around the globe, combined with my preference for bike commuting and public transit whenever possible, have led me to believe that the “need” for individual car ownership, or renting a car when traveling, is among the greatest scams ever pulled on humanity. Cars and the infrastructure needed for them to be parked most of the time have denigrated the charm (not to mention any semblance of sustainability) of cities around America, including in my hometown of Denver. Ridesharing is an easy way to not need a car, and autonomous ridesharing is an even easier way to not need surface parking lots or the need to dedicate much space to cars in city centers at all. The reason is that these cars, all of which in Waymo’s fleet are electric Jaguars, can be in near-constant service except when being charged or serviced. When out of service they can be parked in a dedicated area outside the city center.

I understand that many people, my wife included, are fearful of giving up the control that comes with driving and turning it over to “the bots.” But statistically, removing the human factor makes roads and driving safer. When in Phoenix, nearly everyone I spoke with had become accustomed to Waymo, much like people elsewhere are accustomed to Uber or Lyft. In a short period of time, it had become a normal facet of city life, and this is set to spread globally over the coming years.

The benefits for travelers are immense. AVs reduce human error, which is responsible for 94% of crashes, making travel safer by minimizing distracted driving, speeding, and impaired driving. They also improve traffic flow and cut back on congestion (the cars communicate with each other – watch a Waymo’s windshield wipers when it passes another Waymo).

As AVs become mainstream, travelers stand to save money, time, and effort while enjoying a safer, cleaner, and more efficient transportation system. The shift to autonomous mobility could redefine how we move, making city travel smarter, safer, and more accessible for everyone.