Waymo Arrives in Nashville

Belmont Vision Multimedia, Zach Watkins

Riding into Nashville, Tennessee, Waymo’s self-driving cars are getting ready to change the way the city moves. 

After a year of learning Nashville’s roads with humans at the wheel, Waymo will be ready to take passengers in 2026, according to their website. 

Rides will only be available through Waymo’s app to begin. Eventually, they will be available on Lyft’s app as well.  

Waymo said rides will cost about the same as other rideshare services in Nashville.  

Waymo currently operates in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas. 

“My brother has taken a Waymo before, and my friends have taken them, and they say they like them,” said Brianna Frederick, a Belmont freshman and native of Arizona, a state that Waymo already operates in. 

Frederick says she feels safe in Waymo cars and would use the service in Nashville, despite her experiences with them taking unusual routes. 

In addition to going through backroads, Frederick said that if the car encounters an unfamiliar obstacle, more issues can occur.  

“Let's say a tree fell over in the middle of a road. The computer kind of freaks out and doesn't really know what to do,” she said.  

Waymo cars have several high-tech safety features. Their goal is to save the lives of the millions of people who get into car accidents each year.  

If one of the systems fails, the car will continue to operate, pull over to stop if necessary, and won’t shut down in the middle of the road, according to waymo.com.  

The car automatically pulls over if it detects an emergency vehicle flashing its lights. 

If the Waymo car thinks it was in a crash, it will come to a complete stop and alert company specialists. These specialists will send out a support team, monitor the situation and decide if the police should be called. 

“I actually think self-driving cars that would obey traffic laws would be safer for students,” said Grey Kaczun, a freshman. “You have human drivers who are thinking very emotionally and can be under a lot of stress... versus computerized drivers who are programmed to do certain things and cannot alter that code.” 

With 80% fewer injury-causing crashes, Waymo’s goal is to “eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries,” according to their website. 

Although Waymo may be just starting off in Nashville, it continues to expand through more cities.  

“It's the beginning of something big… Big change is going to happen,” said Frederick. 

If you get in a wreck with a Waymo car, you should go to waymo.com/notify, where you can call first responders, roadside assistance, or request the company’s insurance information. 

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This article was written by Olivia Abernathy