Welcome to the Waymo World Cup

Waymo, Alphabet a startup offering robotaxi rides in 11 US metros right now says it’s ready FIFA World Cup. Game attendees can catch up without a driver they travel to six of the 16 North American venues: stadiums in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Football’s biggest tournament, which is expected to attract around 6.5 million visitors to the continent over a month, could be very exciting. That’s it. The company says it’s paying half a million a week – a pittance compared to the snow giants. Uber and Lyftbut interesting when you remember that the products do not have drivers.

Waymo has plans to offer services in 20 more markets this year alone, with expansion to London and Tokyo nearby. Currently, the Waymo app is available in app stores in 13 countries, including Germany, Great Britain, India, and Japan, and in 15 different languages. For passengers who have not boarded yet robotics in Chinathis event may be their first chance to ride without a driver.

The World Cup can also lead to some spectacular stumbles. Amidst the growth of the service’s success, Waymo has had something of a misfortune so far. It was forced to close operations in several markets like its own vehicles struggled to cope with flooded roads (previous article it made the whole country remember the programs). In May, Waymo also suspended freeway rides, which since late last year had allowed riders to get to other places faster. The company says it is concerned about the condition of its vehicles it does around construction areas. Waymo spokeswoman Sandy Karp says the company is working with local officials to prepare for the World Cup and surrounding events.

If all goes to plan, then, the Waymo World Cup—the first independent World Cup—should look similar to other World Cups. Self-driving cars promise to do many things: give people who can’t get a driver’s license a new way to get around; economic reform of travel; to prevent drivers from working. But when it comes to special situations, driverless cars struggle with the same limitations of drivers. Thousands and thousands of people want to arrive and leave a place at the same time. There are, after all, only so many roads to go around.

Adam Millard-Ball, a professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, Luskin School of Public Affairs, says Adam Millard-Ball. “Geometrically, you can’t have ‘front door’ images for everyone.” The future has many things, but not many cars.

It’s the same problem that other types of cars face. And that’s why pickups and drop-offs at Waymo’s close-knit cousins, Uber and Lyft, look the way they do. Since the proliferation of taxis in the US in the late 2000s, several cities and many organizations – airports and stadiums among them – have found ways to “manage,” if not control, demand for transportation. Once upon a time, your regular airport Uber picked everyone up on the curb, outside of the baggage claim area. Many airports now send snowmobilers to special parking lots.

The same goes for stadiums. In fact, several of these special snow removal areas are now hosted by Waymos. “The city of Santa Clara currently works with rideshares to create a service area around Levi’s Stadium on event days,” Lieutenant Eric Lagergren of the Santa Clara Police Department told WIRED in an email—event days now include the eight or more 49ers home games held each season. “The boarding and transportation facilities in Santa Clara will remain active during all FIFA World Cup 2026 matches held in the city of Santa Clara,” he said. Same routine, different sports activities.