Waymo is coming to Singapore. Could driverless rides change how the city moves?

Imagine booking a car on your phone, watching it pull up, and finding nobody in the driver's seat.

That is what Waymo wants to bring to Singapore. The American company, owned by Google's parent Alphabet, already operates driverless ride-hailing services in US cities. On 18 September 2026, Singapore's Land Transport Authority named it as a new autonomous vehicle operator, alongside ComfortDelGro and Grab.

The first cars are expected within months, but people will drive them at the start. Channel NewsAsia reported that trained specialists will take the cars onto Singapore's roads in 2027, while Waymo adapts its system to the road geometry and monsoon weather. The company aims to open its app to public driverless rides in 2028, subject to regulatory approval.

For now, Singapore is preparing to see whether technology already carrying passengers in American cities can work in a different transport system.

What happened

Testing and preparation will begin in western Singapore, around Labrador and HarbourFront. Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow pointed to ordinary journeys, including commuting, weekend outings and trips to industrial areas with fewer transport options.

The location matters. Singapore has an extensive public transport network, but not every journey is equally convenient. A driverless car could offer another way to reach a workplace, connect to an MRT station or travel between destinations that do not sit neatly on a train or bus route.

Singapore already has a smaller trial in Punggol. It has carried about 20,000 passengers in a fleet of 16 vehicles, according to Siow. He said the vehicles had travelled more than 160,000 kilometres on fixed routes without a major accident, and that 99% of passengers would recommend the experience.

The next step there is to move beyond fixed routes towards point-to-point journeys, with more pick-up locations, including Sengkang General Hospital. Tampines North and Tengah are among the towns being considered for future expansion.

Waymo's arrival is part of a broader push. Siow said Grab plans to have 50 autonomous vehicles within six months, while Singapore's overall autonomous fleet could reach several hundred within two years. That would still be small beside the more than 70,000 taxi and private-hire drivers he cited.

Tokyo came first. Three days before the Singapore announcement, Waymo, GO and Nihon Kotsu said they were preparing to offer Japan's first fully autonomous commercial taxi service there in 2027.

Waymo has been testing in Tokyo since 2025, with Nihon Kotsu drivers behind the wheel while the technology adapts to local roads. The partners plan to start with a small fleet and expand towards 100 vehicles. As in Singapore, the public service still depends on safety checks and regulatory approval.

Together, Tokyo and Singapore signal possible expansion across Asia. So far, Singapore is the only Southeast Asian market Waymo has announced.

What it means

For passengers, driverless cars could fill gaps rather than replace the transport network.

The most useful journeys may be short ones: from home to an MRT station, late at night when fewer services are running, or into an industrial estate that buses and trains do not serve as easily.

Whether that works will come down to ordinary things. People will care about the fare, the wait, where the car can go and where it can pick them up. A service confined to a small operating area may attract curiosity without becoming part of how Singapore moves.

For taxi and private-hire drivers, the implications are more immediate. Autonomous vehicles could eventually compete for some of the same journeys. Singapore's approach is to expand the fleet alongside retraining. Siow said government support can cover up to 90% of salaries during eligible training, with remote operations, vehicle maintenance, testing and data among the possible new roles.

That does not make the transition painless. The jobs still have to materialise, and the skills may differ from those used to earn a living behind the wheel. How quickly vehicles are added will matter as much as the technology itself.

Singapore will also show Waymo how its system performs in dense traffic, tropical rain and a tightly managed transport network. Success in the island state may help the company make its case elsewhere in Southeast Asia, but cities such as Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila have different roads, regulations, labour costs and travel patterns.

What to watch

• The first public driverless ride: The 2028 aim still depends on regulatory approval. The safety requirements and operating conditions will show what Waymo has to prove before a passenger can book a car with nobody at the wheel.

• Whether people use it for ordinary journeys: Fares, waiting times, pick-up points and connections to MRT stations or industrial areas will matter more than the fleet number alone.

• Whether deployment and retraining move together: The number of drivers who enter new roles, and whether those roles provide viable long-term work, will show how much of the manpower promise survives deployment.

• Whether the pattern travels: Singapore is Waymo's first announced Southeast Asian market. Another city in the region would turn possible expansion into a clearer strategy.