Alphabet’s Waymo $GOOGL ( ▼ 2.08% ) said Wednesday it will expand its autonomous driving program to Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh, although it did not give a timeline for when riders will be able to use its robotaxi service in those markets. The company has already started autonomous testing with a safety operator in Philadelphia and is gathering data with human drivers in the other three cities.
The move follows a wave of expansion announcements last month as Waymo races to scale nationally and widen its lead over Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 0.23% ) in autonomous driving. Waymo currently operates commercial robotaxi services in five cities and plans to roll those services out to roughly 20 more as it builds toward broader nationwide coverage.