Waymo, Alphabet a subsidiary that currently provides ride-hailing services in 11 US metros, says it is ready for the FIFA World Cup. Game attendees can catch non-driving rides to six of the 16 North American venues: Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The soccer event, which is expected to attract around 6.5 million visitors to the continent over a month, could be an exciting approach for Waymo. The company says it provides half a million paid rides a week—small compared to giants Uber and Lyft, but impressive when you remember that the things are driverless.
Waymo has plans to offer the service in 20 more markets this year alone, with international expansion in London and Tokyo on the way. Meanwhile, the Waymo app is available in app stores in 13 countries, including Germany, Great Britain, India, and Japan, and in 15 different languages. For travelers who have yet to ride a robotaxis in China, this event probably marks their first chance to ride without driving.
The World Cup may also lead to visible setbacks. In the midst of a successful service expansion, Waymo has had something of an unlucky spring so far. It was forced to shut down service in many markets as its vehicles struggled to cope with flooded roads (a problem that had already led to nationwide software recalls). In May, Waymo also suspended freeway rides, which since late last year have allowed riders to reach other destinations more quickly. The company says it is concerned about how its vehicles react to construction sites. Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp says the company is working with local authorities to prepare for the World Cup and surrounding events.
If all goes according to plan, the Waymo World Cup—the first independent world cup—should look a lot like other World Cups. Self-driving cars promise to do many things: give people who can’t get a driver’s license new opportunities for mobility; reform the travel economy; put drivers out of work. But when it comes to special events, driverless cars struggle with the same limitations of drivers. Thousands and thousands of people want to arrive and leave the place at the same time. There is, after all, only so much road you can go.
“You can’t have a completely organized process without congestion,” said Adam Millard-Ball, a professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Luskin School of Public Affairs. “Geometrically, you’re not going to be able to get everyone’s ‘front door’ photos.” The future is many things, but traffic-free is not one of them.
That’s the kind of problem that other types of cars face. And that’s why pickup and drop-off at Waymo’s closest cousins, Uber and Lyft, look the way they do. Since gray market taxis began to spread in the US in the late 2000s, several cities and institutions—airports and stadiums among them—have found ways to “tamp down,” if not control, ride-hailing. Once upon a time, your average airport Uber picked up anyone at the curb, right there without a baggage claim. Many airports now direct ride-hail passengers to special parking lots.
Same with forums. In fact, several of these special pickup locations now host Waymos. “The city of Santa Clara is currently working with rideshare services to create service locations near Levi’s Stadium on event days,” Lieutenant Eric Lagergren of the Santa Clara Police Department told WIRED in an email—event days here include the eight or more 49ers home games that occur each season. “Riding and public transportation facilities in Santa Clara will continue to operate for all FIFA World Cup 2026 games that will be hosted in the City of Santa Clara,” he said. Same practice, different sporting event.
