Waymo Soon will go to San Francisco Int’l Airport

A bit of local news: Waymo will soon go to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Rya Jetha reported for The San Francisco Standard this week the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company is receiving a permit from airport authorities allowing it to eventually run service to and from SFO. According to Jetha, the experience will initially consist of three phases: (1) testing vehicles with a safety driver present; (2) offering rides to Waymo and airport employees; and (3) offering rides to the general public. The airport “did not provide a timeline for these phases,” Jetha added.

SFO joins its neighbor in San José Mineta International Airport in Waymo service.

“San Franciscans have anxiously waited for Waymo to make inroads at SFO,” Jetha wrote of the ramifications of this week’s transit news. “In December alone, more than 13,000 people searched for SFO on the Waymo app, and around 700 people installed the app while physically at the airport. A July 2024 survey by Waymo found that 89% of riders in the Bay Area are interested in using the service to get to and from SFO.”

San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie said in part in a statement shared with Jetha that the city is “expanding safe, reliable, and modern transportation options” vis-a-vis Waymo.

As Jetha mentioned, the Waymo-to-SFO news is welcome given the context that the Bay Area next year is hosting both Super Bowl LX and the FIFA World Cup at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Having Waymo available as a viable option for getting around the region makes sense—even when we’re not host to such attractions. Indeed, Jetha also noted San Jose’s mayor in Matt Mahan is hopeful people will choose Waymos instead of rental cars to get around as these big events are going on throughout 2026.

From an accessibility perspective, using Waymo to get to the airport feels like a win all around. There’s a button in the app to open the car’s trunk, so it seemingly would be easy to stash one’s luggage back there to and from SFO. Likewise, that a disabled person could use Waymo to get to the airport makes that part of the travel journey more autonomous and independent for them. Moreover, it saves on having to fight for an Uber or Lyft, or asking a friend or family member to take you and/or pick you up there.