TransportationNewsAutonomous CarsWaymo says Singapore will be its next international robotaxi cityThe Alphabet-owned company says it will launch a commercial robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028.The Alphabet-owned company says it will launch a commercial robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028.by Andrew J. HawkinsSep 18, 2026, 2:00 AM UTCShareGiftWaymo Ojai fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicle travels along a city street, San Francisco, California, August 20, 2026. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Gado via Getty ImagesAndrew J. Hawkins is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.Waymo says it will launch a robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028, as the Alphabet-owned company continues to eye overseas markets for expansion.Waymo’s vehicles will begin arriving in Singapore in “the coming months,” the company says, in preparation of mapping and autonomous testing with human safety drivers behind the wheel in 2027.
Waymo says it is “working toward offering fully autonomous ride-hailing to the public” by 2028.Waymo will need approval from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) before it can begin accepting passengers. The city-state requires all autonomous vehicles to undergo a safety assessment conducted at the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research (CETRAN) before they can be deployed on public roads. The tests have been developed by LTA and CETRAN, with input from the Traffic Police. But Waymo isn’t totally unknown in Singapore.
The company established a corporate entity there earlier this year and participates in Singapore’s Steering Committee on Autonomous Vehicles.Singapore has become a hotbed for autonomous vehicle testing. The local authorities have green-lit autonomous freight delivery and road-sweepers, as well as self-driving buses for airport workers. Motional, a US-based company majority owned by Hyundai, conducted a robotaxi pilot in Singapore in 2016.In addition to Singapore, Waymo has said it plans on launching a robotaxi service in London by the end of 2026, and Tokyo in 2027. The company has also said it will bring its robotaxis to Munich, Germany, in late 2027, marking its first expansion in the European Union.“Singapore has built one of the safest, most efficient, and most forward-thinking transportation ecosystems in the world,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement. “Their focus on reliability, sustainability, and human-centric progress directly mirrors how we have built Waymo’s technology and service.”This year, Waymo has announced several new domestic markets, including Nashville, Denver, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
The company has around 4,000 vehicles operating in about 15 US cities.But regulatory hurdles and political opposition have kept it out of some of the US’ most important cities, including New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC. As the robotaxi debate continues to rage on in America, Waymo has signaled that it intends to keep growing overseas — with no signs of slowing down.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew J. HawkinsAutonomous CarsNewsTransportationWaymoMost PopularThe 2.5-hour AI-generated Odyssey movie is 2.5 hours too longThe Apple Watch Series 12 is the start of a new wearable eraThe iPhone 18 Pro’s big camera update is all about the small gainsVideoI wore Snap’s $2,200 smart glassesInside the suddenly explosive world of AI safetyAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
