Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026
Fact Brief: Can you take a Waymo anywhere in downtown San Jose?
Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, expanded its robotaxi service to the South Bay in November 2025 — but still isn’t operating in a majority of San Jose neighborhoods, including its downtown districts.
Downtown San Jose is largely outside of Waymo’s service boundaries, with the exception of Diridon Station, where it can take you to San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC), Santana Row, Westfield Valley Fair and the neighborhoods of Newhall, College Park, Cory, Alameda, Rose Garden and West San Carlos — which are included in the service areas. Options to take Waymo are still limited throughout the South Bay. Waymo will take you from SJC to locations along the Peninsula and into San Francisco.
According to SJC, Waymo plans to expand into downtown and other parts of San Jose.
Download the Waymo app from Google Play or the App Store to see if services are available in your area.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- KQED Waymo Expands Service to Bay Area Freeways and San José Airport
- Waymo app Service area
- San José Mineta International Airport San José Mineta International Airport Becomes First Commercial Airport in California to Offer Fully Autonomous Rides to Travelers
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.
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