ElevnEV guides · robotaxi
Robotaxis · how to get one, and when one beats a rental
The first half of this page is the part usually left out: what actually happens between opening an app and closing the door behind you. Operational details are from each operator's own help pages, checked 2026-08-16. Service areas, fares and airport permissions change monthly, so the operator app is always ground truth. We book nothing and quote nothing.
Where you can ride today
Each metro has its own page with the local answer: who runs, the airport verdict, and where the geofence ends.
Your first ride, step by step
Pick the operator you are about to meet · each one has its own full walkthrough, from opening the app to closing the door.
The rules that decide whether you can ride at all
These are Waymo's published rules, the operator most people meet first. Check the others in their own app before you count on them.
Kids and car seatsUnder 8 needs a car or booster seat, secured in the back, and Waymo does not supply one. The front seat is 8 and up. A minor cannot ride alone at all unless they have a teen account, which is Waymo's, ages 14 to 17, and has been Phoenix only. Confirm it in the app for your city before you plan around it, because that is the kind of limit that widens without an announcement.
How many of youFour passengers maximum in a Waymo, and the same in a Zoox pod. A fifth person means two rides.
AnimalsService animals ride. Pets do not.
BagsTrunk access at every stop including the airport ones. Open it from the app or the button on the car, and load it yourself.
Left something behindReport it through the app form or on 1-844-261-3753, then collect from the depot, which is open around the clock. Items are held 10 days, and food, bottles, umbrellas and smoking gear are not kept at all. Waymo is explicit that it is not responsible for what you leave and does not reimburse.
Airports, which are the catch
A robotaxi metro does not mean a robotaxi airport. Four airports take Waymo today, and two of them do not mean the terminal curb. Everywhere else, landing still means a rideshare or the rental counter · so plan the arrival leg separately from the rest of the trip.
PHX · Phoenix Sky HarborTerminals 3 and 4, Level 1 outer curb, South Door 8. Or the Sky Train stations at 24th and 44th Street, with trains every 3-5 minutes.
SAT · San AntonioPickups are from the Arrivals outer curb at Rideshare Zone 2, not the terminal door. Drop-offs are curbside at Departures for both Terminal A and B. Walking to Departures expecting a pickup is the common mistake here.
SFO · San FranciscoNOT the terminal curb. You take the AirTrain to the Rental Car Center (about 15 minutes) or the Grand Hyatt (about 10). Access is still limited to some riders.
SJC · San José MinetaTerminal A pickups at Stop 9, Terminal B pickups outside the Rental Car Center. Drop-offs are curbside at Departures.
Which is the cheaper day
When the robotaxi winsPoint-to-point days inside one city: no parking, no charging homework, no return rule. One or two hops a day clearly beat a $65+ day rate once parking and charging count · stack four or more rides and per-ride fares flip the math back toward the rental.
When the rental winsAnything past the geofence: Hill Country, Rainier, Red Rock, the Keys. Plus luggage days, child seats you would otherwise carry through a terminal, and multi-stop errands. And any morning with a flight to catch.
Fare shape · not quotesAs of mid-2026 reporting: Waymo ~$1.40-2.50/mi, typical ride ~$20, per mid-2026 reporting. Tesla Robotaxi ~$0.81/mi, typical ride ~$8, per mid-2026 reporting. Zoox aims at the comfort tier, roughly 20 to 40 percent over a plain UberX: base plus per-mile plus per-minute, quoted before you accept and locked even if the pod reroutes. All change without notice, and none of these are ours to promise.
Statuses re-checked 2026-08-16 against the operators' own city lists. This page ages faster than the rest of the site: operators add cities, airports change their pickup rules, and a paid pilot becomes a waitlist. Treat anything here older than a month as a starting point and confirm in the app.
Beyond our metros: Houston and San Antonio (Tesla · Waymo, with San Antonio airport service), Orlando and Tampa, Atlanta (Waymo via Uber), and Nashville are riding or opening now; Detroit and Washington, DC are next, and London is Waymo's first international market. Wherever the geofence ends, the trip coach picks up · plan the rental half of the trip.
