People in Atlanta are ditching human drivers to hunt down Waymo robotaxis

Waymo robotaxis have officially landed in Atlanta, and residents are going out of their way to ride in them, even mass-cancelling on human drivers along the way.

While Tesla continues to tease self-driving ‘robotaxis’ that sometimes still require a driver behind the wheel, Waymo’s fully autonomous cars have been picking up passengers for years.

The service has been popular in California and Arizona, but Atlanta marks a new frontier for the company.

And thanks to a quirky partnership with Uber, Atlanta locals are now treating the quest for a robotaxi like a game.

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Chasing the elusive robotaxi

Here’s the catch: unlike in Phoenix or San Francisco, you can’t just open the Waymo app and order a car directly in Atlanta.

Instead, you have to book through Uber, which is interesting, because Uber recently partnered with Lucid to create a new robotaxi service to rival Tesla.

On Uber, riders can select a preference for Waymo, but there’s no guarantee they’ll get one.

That’s led to a growing trend of locals repeatedly canceling on human drivers until the Uber app finally matches them with the robotaxi they’re after.

One Atlanta resident, Nate Galesic, told Business Insider he’s averaged canceling about 20 human rides just to snag a single Waymo.

And he’s not complaining. For him, the chase is part of the fun.

“The fact that it’s so challenging to get has turned it into a game,” he said.

As an assistant director in TV and film, Galesic added that after long days on set, it’s a relief to sit back, close his eyes, and not worry about driving (or small talk).

It’s probably for the best that he’s just resting in the backseat so he won’t succumb to his intrusive thoughts and try to honk the horn in a self-driving car, because as one person found out, this can get you in trouble.

Waymo is expanding quickly

Right now, Uber says there are only a few dozen Waymos operating in Atlanta, though that number is expected to grow into the hundreds in the coming years.

That’s still a drop in the bucket for a metro region of six million people, but the novelty is clearly driving demand.

In fact, you’ll probably see many more Waymo taxis operating in the near future, given that the company has announced the launch of its services in more than 10 new cities across the US.

For now, riders are in Atlanta are advised to increase their odds by avoiding freeway routes, traveling outside peak hours, and sticking to trips within the official service area.

With Tesla’s robotaxi rollout in Austin hitting a few obstacles, Waymo appears to be taking the lead.

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