After the demise of GM’s Cruiser “robotaxi” service, Waymo roamed the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, Austin, Texas, and both San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. People would use the Waymo app to call a Jaguar I-Pace—sans driver—to wherever they needed to go. Mainly to the airport or downtown, as Waymo vehicles tend to avoid freeways.

In Texas and Georgia, some customers have seen a Waymo vehicle pull up instead of a privately owned vehicle with a driver after Uber and Waymo partnered up and combined forces. So far, the trips have been short and very local, and they’ve been doing well.

Inspired by the success, Uber signed a decade-long contract with Volkswagen’s autonomous mobility division to grow its EV taxi fleet by deploying “thousands” of Volkswagen ID Buzz vehicles to respond to customer calls. Testing in Los Angeles will start later this year, with a full launch planned for early 2026 should everything go well.

“Volkswagen believes that mobility is transformational. Our partnership with Uber is the next step for us to realize this vision and unleash the potential of autonomous mobility,” said Volkswagen North America’s CEO, Kjell Gruner, in a press release. “Through our work with Uber, we’ll introduce the ID. Buzz, the reimagined version of the iconic Microbus in all-electric form, to a growing number of riders in the years to come.”

If Uber’s testing goes well, there are plans to expand

Naturally, Uber and Volkswagen see themselves operating in more locations than Southern California. At some point during the 10-year partnership, the two companies plan to expand their Uber-Buzz ventures across the nation.

While testing, the responding Volkswagen vehicles will have a human operator to take over if needed. Once it’s determined they’re not needed, a full launch will be fully autonomous.

“This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the advancement of autonomous mobility, and highlights both Volkswagen’s and Uber’s shared dedication to building the future of transportation,” said Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. “We can’t wait to launch in Los Angeles late next year.”