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The Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi has come to San Francisco, but not through a full public launch: Waymo tested fewer than a handful of vehicles on public roads in July 2024, then offered selected riders limited Ojai feedback rides by May 28, 2026. General Waymo rides remain available, but customers cannot be confirmed as able to choose Ojai.
The vehicle is now called Ojai, pronounced “oh-hi.” Ojai is a Zeekr-based electric minivan, while Waymo supplies the autonomous-driving system, sensors, software, and fleet modifications. The distinction explains why “the Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi has come to San Francisco” is accurate—but also why “everyone can order one” would be overstated.
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Key takeaways
- The Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi first appeared on San Francisco public roads for testing on July 23, 2024, but the initial test was not a full passenger launch.
- The production-intent vehicle is now called Ojai, pronounced “oh-hi,” and uses a Zeekr electric minivan platform fitted with Waymo’s autonomous-driving hardware and software.
- Waymo’s sixth-generation Ojai system has been described as using 13 cameras, four lidar sensors, six radar units, and external audio receivers.
- By May 28, 2026, selected riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix could receive limited free Ojai rides for feedback, but ordinary riders could not be confirmed as able to request the vehicle.
- Waymo One service remains available through the Waymo app across the San Francisco Peninsula, while the local service page still presents the Jaguar I-PACE as the San Francisco vehicle.
- San Francisco International Airport approved Waymo passenger service on January 29, 2026, initially directing riders to the Rental Car Center Level 1 curbside via AirTrain.
What does “The Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi has come to San Francisco” mean?
The Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi has come to San Francisco in stages: Waymo began public-road testing with fewer than a handful of Zeekr-based vehicles on July 23, 2024, and later moved selected riders into a limited Ojai feedback program in 2026. The arrival does not mean every Waymo customer can choose an Ojai on demand.
The first San Francisco appearance was a technology and fleet-development milestone rather than a retail launch. Waymo said the vehicles were not yet driving autonomously during the July 2024 testing period. The purpose was to evaluate a roomier, purpose-built robotaxi that could eventually supplement or replace retrofitted passenger cars.
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The vehicle’s identity also changed during development. Waymo and Geely announced the partnership in December 2021, describing an all-electric Zeekr vehicle designed in Sweden specifically for autonomous ride-hailing. Waymo described the vehicle as “designed in Sweden specially for autonomous ride-hailing” in its official fleet announcement.
Can I ride the Waymo Zeekr robotaxi in San Francisco?
You can request a general Waymo ride in San Francisco through the Waymo app, but the available evidence does not establish that every rider can request or select the Zeekr-based Ojai.
On May 28, 2026, Waymo reportedly began giving selected riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix limited free Ojai rides to collect feedback. The program was selective and experimental. A successful Waymo booking therefore does not guarantee that the dispatched vehicle will be an Ojai rather than a Jaguar I-PACE.
Waymo’s current San Francisco service page says, “Anyone in San Francisco can take a ride today,” and describes service throughout the San Francisco Peninsula, from San Francisco to San Jose. The same page highlights the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE and does not promise customer vehicle selection.
| Question | What the evidence supports | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Can you book a Waymo in San Francisco? | Yes, through the Waymo app within the service area. | That every address or trip is eligible at every moment. |
| Can you choose the Ojai? | Selected riders received limited Ojai feedback rides by May 2026. | A general public vehicle-choice feature. |
| Will a normal booking use an Ojai? | The Ojai may be introduced gradually as the fleet expands. | A guaranteed Ojai dispatch. |
| Can you take a Waymo to SFO? | Waymo received approval for passenger service to and from SFO in January 2026. | That every airport trip uses an Ojai or that airport operations have no restrictions. |
What is the Waymo Ojai?
The Waymo Ojai is a purpose-built, rider-focused autonomous minivan based on a Zeekr electric-vehicle platform. Zeekr supplies the underlying vehicle platform, while Waymo installs and operates the autonomous-driving system that functions as the robotaxi’s “driver.”
Ojai is not simply a consumer Zeekr 009 with a Waymo logo. Reporting in 2026 described stripped-down Zeekr vehicles being sent to Waymo’s Arizona factory, where Waymo added its robotaxi hardware and software. The same reporting said the vehicles did not contain Chinese connected-car technology. That distinction matters: a Zeekr-based Waymo fleet vehicle is a heavily integrated commercial autonomous vehicle, not a retail model whose consumer parts or accessories should automatically be assumed compatible.
The interior was designed around ride-hailing rather than private ownership. Waymo and Geely’s original announcement described a flat floor, low step-in height, generous headroom and legroom, adjustable seats, screens, and charging ports. Later rider-oriented features included doors on both sides, cup holders, grab bars, braille above buttons, and adaptive screens for route information, music, climate controls, and rider-tip controls.
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What sensors does the Waymo Zeekr robotaxi use?
The Ojai uses Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous-driving system, described as having 13 cameras, four lidar sensors, six radar units, and external audio receivers. These component counts were reported by TechCrunch in 2026 in its coverage of the Ojai rollout.
The earlier 2024 test vehicle also used Waymo’s sixth-generation hardware, with a sensor suite comprising lidar, radar, cameras, and microphones. Waymo’s stated development direction was a more cost-effective system that could operate across a broader range of conditions, including colder climates.
| System component | Reported Ojai count | Role in the vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| Cameras | 13 | Visual sensing around the vehicle. |
| Lidar sensors | 4 | Three-dimensional environmental sensing and distance measurement. |
| Radar units | 6 | Additional detection and distance information, including in conditions where cameras may be less useful. |
| External audio receivers | Count not specified in the dossier | Helps the vehicle process relevant sounds outside the cabin. |
The sensor counts describe the reported sixth-generation Ojai configuration; they should not be treated as a complete specification of every Waymo vehicle or as proof of identical hardware on every future production batch. The system is described as modular, allowing Waymo to apply it to multiple vehicle platforms, including the Zeekr minivan and Hyundai Ioniq 5.
How is the Ojai different from Waymo’s Jaguar I-PACE?
The Jaguar I-PACE is an established electric passenger vehicle adapted for Waymo’s autonomous fleet, while the Ojai was designed from the beginning around autonomous ride-hailing and fleet operation.
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|---|---|---|
| Vehicle purpose | Retrofitted passenger EV used in established Waymo service. | Purpose-built electric vehicle platform intended for autonomous ride-hailing. |
| Passenger layout | Conventional passenger-car cabin. | Flat floor, lower step-in height, more rider-focused space and controls. |
| Autonomous system | Waymo’s earlier-generation Driver hardware is associated with the established Jaguar fleet. | Waymo’s sixth-generation system, reported with 13 cameras, four lidar sensors, and six radar units. |
| Availability | Presented as the San Francisco vehicle on Waymo’s current service page. | Limited/select rider access was reported during the 2026 feedback rollout. |
| Operating objective | Established service and fleet experience. | Lower build, maintenance, charging, and operating costs at larger fleet scale. |
| Customer choice | May be dispatched for an eligible Waymo booking. | Not confirmed as selectable by every customer. |
The comparison is about vehicle generations and deployment strategy, not a claim that every Jaguar has precisely the same hardware configuration or that every Ojai ride has identical operating capabilities.
Why is Waymo introducing a Zeekr-based robotaxi?
Waymo is introducing the Ojai to improve the economics and practicality of operating a large autonomous fleet. A robotaxi spends far more time carrying passengers than a privately owned car, so uptime, charging time, cleaning, durability, maintenance, passenger access, and sensor cost directly affect the viability of each vehicle.
The Ojai was designed to be easier to clean and maintain, faster to charge, more modular, and less expensive to build and operate than earlier fleet vehicles. Waymo’s sixth-generation Driver is intended to move between multiple vehicle platforms, reducing the need to develop an entirely separate autonomous system for every model.
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TechCrunch reported in 2026 that Waymo was scaling toward capacity of tens of thousands of vehicles annually, beginning with Ojai and later the Hyundai Ioniq 5. The same report placed the expansion in the context of Waymo’s stated commercial growth: TechCrunch reported more than 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in 2026. That figure is a Waymo figure presented in reporting about broader commercial scaling; it is not a San Francisco-only measurement and is not an independently audited Ojai profitability result.
The available evidence does not provide a final Ojai cost per ride, profit per ride, exact San Francisco fleet count, or the percentage of San Francisco trips dispatched to Ojai. Those figures should not be inferred from the vehicle’s design goals.
How capable is Waymo’s autonomous-driving system?
Waymo says its Driver has accumulated more than 200 million miles of real-world driving experience, according to the current San Francisco service page. The mileage is a company-published figure, not a claim that every mile was driven by an Ojai or that mileage alone proves performance in every situation.
California’s regulatory approval provides another important but separate data point. The California Department of Motor Vehicles timeline records a November 2025 authorization adding the Zeekr model to Waymo’s approved areas of operation. The listed authorization covers all times of day and night, all speeds, and conditions including rain and fog within the approved operational-design-domain maps.
Regulatory authorization is not the same as universal passenger availability. An approved area describes where the vehicle may operate under the authorized conditions; it does not prove that every approved vehicle is carrying ordinary passengers in every listed location or that the Ojai is dispatched to every eligible Waymo booking.
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Yes. San Francisco International Airport announced on January 29, 2026, that Waymo had been approved to begin passenger service to and from SFO.
The airport said the approval followed a three-phase pilot and that initial Waymo pickup and drop-off service would use the Rental Car Center Level 1 curbside, accessible by AirTrain. Airport procedures and pickup locations can change, so riders should check current Waymo and SFO instructions before traveling.
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Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in the airport announcement, “Serving rides to and from San Francisco International Airport delivers one of the most requested features for our riders.” The SFO announcement is the source for the approval, launch arrangement, and statement.
What should San Francisco riders expect?
- Check whether the trip is in the service area. Waymo’s San Francisco coverage extends across the San Francisco Peninsula, but service boundaries, hours, and eligible pickup points are operational details rather than guarantees for every address.
- Use the Waymo app. General Waymo One availability does not mean the rider can select a particular vehicle platform.
- Expect the Jaguar I-PACE or another eligible fleet vehicle unless the app or Waymo specifically identifies an Ojai option. The public service page does not promise Ojai selection.
- Follow airport-specific instructions for SFO trips. The initial airport arrangement used the Rental Car Center Level 1 curbside via AirTrain.
- Do not assume a Zeekr 009 specification applies. The Ojai is a Waymo-modified autonomous fleet vehicle based on a Zeekr platform, with Waymo-installed sensors, computing, software, and rider interfaces.
What the Waymo-Zeekr arrival means for the robotaxi market
The durable significance of the Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi is not simply that a Chinese-built vehicle appeared in San Francisco. The larger change is Waymo’s move from adapting conventional passenger vehicles toward a modular, purpose-built fleet platform.
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A purpose-built robotaxi can prioritize passenger access, interior durability, cleaning, sensor placement, charging, and maintenance from the start. If the Ojai delivers the lower operating and production costs Waymo is targeting, the platform could make broader service expansion more practical. If the platform remains limited to feedback rides, however, the commercial promise will remain ahead of ordinary customer access.
For now, the accurate conclusion is narrower: Waymo service is publicly available in the San Francisco area, Ojai has entered limited rider testing and feedback, California has authorized the Zeekr model within mapped operating areas, and the evidence does not support saying that every San Francisco rider can order one.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi come to San Francisco?
The Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi first appeared on San Francisco public roads for testing on July 23, 2024. The vehicle later became known as Ojai, and selected riders received limited free Ojai feedback rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix by May 28, 2026.
Can every San Francisco Waymo rider choose the Ojai?
No. Waymo’s general San Francisco service is available through the Waymo app, but the available evidence does not show that every rider can request or select an Ojai. Ojai access was reported as limited and selective during the 2026 rollout.
Is the Waymo robotaxi a Zeekr 009?
The Ojai is based on a Zeekr electric minivan platform, but Waymo installs and operates the autonomous-driving hardware and software. The Ojai should not be treated as a normal retail Zeekr 009 or as a vehicle compatible with ordinary consumer Zeekr parts.
Does Waymo go to SFO?
Yes. San Francisco International Airport announced on January 29, 2026, that Waymo had been approved to begin passenger service to and from SFO. The initial pickup and drop-off location was the Rental Car Center Level 1 curbside, accessible by AirTrain.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: The Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi has come to San Francisco, but not as a full public vehicle-choice launch. The vehicle is the Waymo Ojai, a Zeekr-based electric minivan using Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous system. General Waymo rides are available through the app, while Ojai access remained limited and selective in the reported 2026 rollout.
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