Waymo robotaxi unit doubles its paid rides in three months

Tesla, GM, Amazon and China's WeRide also have robotaxi plans

Waymo, which has about 700 vehicles in its fleet, is the only US firm operating uncrewed robotaxis that collect fares. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Alphabet's Waymo said it had doubled its paid rides to 100,000 per week in just over three months as the autonomous ride-hailing firm expanded its areas of service and allowed more people to use its robotaxis.

Waymo's expansion comes just a month after Google's parent company Alphabet said it was planning a multi-year $5bn (€4.5bn) investment in the company even as autonomous vehicle technology continues to face widespread skepticism, tight regulatory scrutiny and federal investigations.