Millions of Trips, “Waymo” Empty Miles: California’s First Thousand Days of Commercial Robotaxi Service

Join the Aspen Policy Academy mailing list to learn more about us and our fellows (you’ll receive one email a week).

{"action":"swipe","clientId":"ac5a79b3-027f-4735-ad6e-8ed9a01adc94","controls":["submits"],"property":"newsletter","recipients":"","receipts":"","rules":[],"subject":""}

{"type":"email","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Email Address","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"email_address","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"^[a-zA-Z0-9.]{2,}@[a-zA-Z0-9]{3,}\\.[A-Za-z]{2,}$","count":1}

Email Address

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"First Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"first_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

First Name

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Last Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"last_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Last Name

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"I want to learn how to change policy"},{"label":"I am a journalist"}],"title":"Focus","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["multiple"],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":973758383,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Focus

Description of field

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"Washington DC area"},{"label":"New York City area"},{"label":"San Francisco Bay area"},{"label":"Los Angeles area"},{"label":"I'm in another location"}],"title":"Select your location","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":420034019,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Select your location

Description of field

By submitting this form, I agree that the Aspen Institute can collect, process, and retain limited personal information for administrative purposes; and that the Institute can share this limited personal information with its trusted service providers for program administration purposes. I consent to receiving email communications from the Aspen Policy Academy. I understand I can withdraw my consent at any time by contacting DataPrivacyLegal@aspeninstitute.org.

I agree to the Aspen Institute’s Terms of Use Agreement and acknowledge that I have read and understand the Aspen Institute Privacy Policy which provides additional information about how the Institute processes personal information, as well as rights I may have regarding the personal information the Institute maintains about me.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox for our next weekly newsletter!

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"header","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"mobile","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

Millions of Trips, “Waymo” Empty Miles: California’s First Thousand Days of Commercial Robotaxi Service

Article Published May 18, 2026

This article was originally published in Transport Findings on May 18, 2026.

By Awad Abdelhalim

Autonomous rideshare services, generally referred to as robotaxis, have been scaling up rapidly in the United States. However, there is very little visibility into the operations of these services and their impact on urban congestion, particularly when vehicles are cruising without passengers onboard. We analyzed the composition of more than 86 million total vehicle miles traveled over approximately 14 million Waymo robotaxi trips, using data reported to the California Public Utilities Commission from August 2023 through December 2025. We found that only about 54% of all miles traveled by Waymos in California are driven with a passenger onboard.

Read the Full Article

{"abilities":[],"action":"swipe","className":"wide","columns":3,"controls":["arrows"],"exclude":[{"starter.postid":"29781"},{"default.postid":"26818"}],"filters":[],"include":[{"starter.termid":"231"},{"starter.termid":"235"}],"maximum":6,"meta":[],"property":"box","searching":"","sorts":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"sorting":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in","relevance"],"filtering":"","refiner":false,"total":94}

Aspen Policy Academy

Aspen Policy Academy Demo Day

Former state official reflects on tech’s role in uplifting residents

Digital States 2026 ‘A’ State Interview: Christine Sakuda, Hawaii