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Servus München: Waymo Is Coming to Germany

64 points by boulos 22d ago

qwhaah 21d ago
Lol, the entire article is about backroom deals with the German car industry. Get out the traffic cones.
puszczyk 22d ago
super interesting, i really wanted to try waymo but just never had the opportunity; maybe in Munich then also, uber (in partnership with pony.ai and verne, a Croatian startup) launched robotaxis in Zagreb a week ago https://www.reuters.com/technology/uber-launches-autonomous-rides-zagreb-its-first-europe-2026-08-19/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/uber-launches-autonomous-... so waymo/Munich is in fact the second in the EU; also they are playing it safe > In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see Waymo vehicles on the streets of Munich where we’ll begin driving manually across the city. We are taking a rigorous, phased approach that starts with high-definition mapping of local street networks and testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel. This validation period will ensure the Waymo Driver adapts seamlessly to Munich’s distinct driving conditions before we aim to open commercial ride-hailing to the public towards the end of 2027.
moritzwarhier 22d ago
Cool! AI vehicle coordination (and autonomous driving) could save so much traffic. But before I get into a rant here: Munich seems like the perfect city for this beta, and I wish them loads of success. Munich has wide streets, affluent population, and a freshly elected progressive government.
- FromHoiPolloi 21d ago
  How? The traffic is the movement of vehicles. Can you save traffic by increasing the volume of trafficked things? How would AI vehicle coordination work with non-AI participants (i.e. meatbags)
  - bluealienpie 21d ago
    In the current phase it just displaces the need for taxi labor. In the long term, you could technically remove all signage and have V2V communication to define vehicle movement without ever stopping. Example you could make an intersection where cars zigzag through each other instead of stopping. All this being said, it’s no replacement for competent mass transit.
    - FromHoiPolloi 8d ago
      I'm afraid that as a pedestrian I would never cross an intersection where cars zigzag through each other instead of stopping... My imagination says I would have to order a taxi to cross from one block to another changing a 5 minute walk into a 30 minute commute.
  - moritzwarhier 21d ago
    I didn't want to discuss it further, and I also don't think this is a priority for Google, but I don't think that humans need as many cars as there are to go places. Key to reducing traffic would be to stop blocking huge parts of dense cities with parked vehicles, and ultimately, drastically reduce the number of personally owned vehicles. People don't pay for the external costs of their vehicles, so it should be required to use vehicles efficiently. This is not a technological question, but a political, and Google ain't going to solve it without an incentive. But autonomous vehicles could in theory transform car traffic by huge amounts in dense areas, without sacrificing mobility. Munich is a metropolitan area. The biggest hindrance to mobility in large cities are usually cars and car infrastructure themselves, because the incentives from countries and for companies are to waste space and energy, and subsidize that. Ride sharing with autonomous vehicles could reduce need for private cars enormously. Not that I think it's gonna happen in Munich because of Google now. The technology could just help with it. Alas, Sorry, I wrote quite a bit already, but I don't want to expand on this repetitive discussion for my own sanity. And yeah, when people want to have many cars and money can be made by building many cars, even subsidized by the state, the we will continue to block more space with them and build more. "Meatbags" want it, since the successful lobbying of automotive industry to subordinate all public space and resources in the first half of the 20th century.
- whoislewys_1 21d ago
  Idk they could lead to significantly _more_ traffic As driving becomes easier to access due to an influx of vehicles, could lead to a Jevon's paradox situation where there's more driving demand, and more autonomous vehicles on the road, often circling because they know they're likely to get another rider soon, causing more congestion than today The lobbying done by these companies also clearly favors car traffic over public transit & pedestrian traffic. I'd much rather optimize for better walking and biking traffic than car traffic
  - deleted 21d ago
    [deleted]
thoughtbefore 22d ago
In the not-so-distant future, you’ll be able to book a trip from your front door to any other front door in the world in 1 ticket/payment. Imagine not even having to switch vessels with the vehicle morphing from freeway driving to personal flight even to in-town or scenic driving (or flight) with different routes, handling and displays. I’d like to float around in a bubble, like Glinda the good witch
- TomJansen 21d ago
  Iets first try to get inter-European train tickets shall we?
darthoctopus 22d ago
I think it will be interesting to see how this plays out for Waymo, as (unlike Uber in Zagreb) they will be competing with a world-class public transport system. A bold move! But perhaps that only goes to show how far ahead of the competition Waymo is, if they are this confident.
- jaapz 21d ago
  Uber is doing fine in Munchen as well, afaik. There are still people who want to pay a premium for them to be picked up where they are and dropped off where they need to be.
- amunozo 21d ago
  Taxis and public transport have coexisted since forever. They just serve different occasions and/or people. Why would it be different with Waymo?
- pkos98 21d ago
  > world-class public transport It’s really not at all at the same level as other European cities. It’s so bad that basically every year high up officials write a Brandbrief (urgent appeal) to either Deutsche Bahn or Ministry of transport that the situation is unbearable. Having lives in 3 different German cities, it’s by far the worst and most unreliable. In contrast to the US, many people exclusively rely upon public transport and eg a drivers license costs north of 4K € (approx 5k USD), in addition to much higher gasoline prices - making a car way less affordable. # 1. State Minister Bernreiter's Brandbrief to DB InfraGO (2026) https://www.bayern.de/kritik-an-langsamfahrstellen/ https://www.bayern.de/kritik-an-langsamfahrstellen/ # 2. Pullach Municipal Brandbrief on the S7 (2025) https://www.pullach.de/buergerbrief-uns-reicht-es-jetzt-gemeinde-verschickt-brandbrief-zur-s7/ https://www.pullach.de/buergerbrief-uns-reicht-es-jetzt-geme... # 3. MVV & Stakeholders Brandbrief to Deutsche Bahn (2022) https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/s-bahn-muss-zuverlaessiger-werden-mvv-brandbrief-an-deutsche-bahn-art-786361 https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/s-bahn-muss-zu... # 4. Mayors' Joint Transit Funding Brandbrief (2025) https://www.bild.de/politik/friedrich-merz-neuer-brandbrief-an-kanzler-aus-muenchen-und-stuttgart-69135efa2c4a42deba35bcf6 https://www.bild.de/politik/friedrich-merz-neuer-brandbrief-... # 5. Landräte Transit Cuts Warning Brandbrief (2024) https://in-motion.me/articles/2024-12-22_es-drohen-kuerzungen-im-nahverkehr-landrat-schreibt-brandbrief-an-soeder https://in-motion.me/articles/2024-12-22_es-drohen-kuerzunge... # 6. Pro Bahn Munich Analysis & Brandbrief (2024) https://www.pro-bahn.de/oberbayern/pbp/pbp202401.pdf https://www.pro-bahn.de/oberbayern/pbp/pbp202401.pdf
hulitu 22d ago
Oh no. The traffic in München is allready crap. Noone needs those selfstopping monsters.
lava_pidgeon 22d ago
Related vw self driving project in Hamburg https://www.moia.io/de-DE/blog/autonome-mobilitaet-in-hamburg-testen https://www.moia.io/de-DE/blog/autonome-mobilitaet-in-hambur...
ece 21d ago
I've learned to be wary of these cars in the bay area, they seem to cut it close often, and they get stuck because they're not L5. I hope municipalities know what they're getting.
Stevvo 21d ago
Curious how different the safety outcomes will be to the US. A Waymo is safer than an American driver, but so is a European driver. A driver from Norway is even safer than a Waymo.

64 points by boulos 22d ago

Lol, the entire article is about backroom deals with the German car industry. Get out the traffic cones.

super interesting, i really wanted to try waymo but just never had the opportunity; maybe in Munich then also, uber (in partnership with pony.ai and verne, a Croatian startup) launched robotaxis in Zagreb a week ago https://www.reuters.com/technology/uber-launches-autonomous-rides-zagreb-its-first-europe-2026-08-19/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/uber-launches-autonomous-... so waymo/Munich is in fact the second in the EU; also they are playing it safe > In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see Waymo vehicles on the streets of Munich where we’ll begin driving manually across the city. We are taking a rigorous, phased approach that starts with high-definition mapping of local street networks and testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel. This validation period will ensure the Waymo Driver adapts seamlessly to Munich’s distinct driving conditions before we aim to open commercial ride-hailing to the public towards the end of 2027.

moritzwarhier 22d ago

Cool! AI vehicle coordination (and autonomous driving) could save so much traffic. But before I get into a rant here: Munich seems like the perfect city for this beta, and I wish them loads of success. Munich has wide streets, affluent population, and a freshly elected progressive government.

FromHoiPolloi 21d ago
How? The traffic is the movement of vehicles. Can you save traffic by increasing the volume of trafficked things? How would AI vehicle coordination work with non-AI participants (i.e. meatbags)
- bluealienpie 21d ago
  In the current phase it just displaces the need for taxi labor. In the long term, you could technically remove all signage and have V2V communication to define vehicle movement without ever stopping. Example you could make an intersection where cars zigzag through each other instead of stopping. All this being said, it’s no replacement for competent mass transit.
  - FromHoiPolloi 8d ago
    I'm afraid that as a pedestrian I would never cross an intersection where cars zigzag through each other instead of stopping... My imagination says I would have to order a taxi to cross from one block to another changing a 5 minute walk into a 30 minute commute.
- moritzwarhier 21d ago
  I didn't want to discuss it further, and I also don't think this is a priority for Google, but I don't think that humans need as many cars as there are to go places. Key to reducing traffic would be to stop blocking huge parts of dense cities with parked vehicles, and ultimately, drastically reduce the number of personally owned vehicles. People don't pay for the external costs of their vehicles, so it should be required to use vehicles efficiently. This is not a technological question, but a political, and Google ain't going to solve it without an incentive. But autonomous vehicles could in theory transform car traffic by huge amounts in dense areas, without sacrificing mobility. Munich is a metropolitan area. The biggest hindrance to mobility in large cities are usually cars and car infrastructure themselves, because the incentives from countries and for companies are to waste space and energy, and subsidize that. Ride sharing with autonomous vehicles could reduce need for private cars enormously. Not that I think it's gonna happen in Munich because of Google now. The technology could just help with it. Alas, Sorry, I wrote quite a bit already, but I don't want to expand on this repetitive discussion for my own sanity. And yeah, when people want to have many cars and money can be made by building many cars, even subsidized by the state, the we will continue to block more space with them and build more. "Meatbags" want it, since the successful lobbying of automotive industry to subordinate all public space and resources in the first half of the 20th century.
whoislewys_1 21d ago
Idk they could lead to significantly _more_ traffic As driving becomes easier to access due to an influx of vehicles, could lead to a Jevon's paradox situation where there's more driving demand, and more autonomous vehicles on the road, often circling because they know they're likely to get another rider soon, causing more congestion than today The lobbying done by these companies also clearly favors car traffic over public transit & pedestrian traffic. I'd much rather optimize for better walking and biking traffic than car traffic
- deleted 21d ago
  [deleted]

thoughtbefore 22d ago

In the not-so-distant future, you’ll be able to book a trip from your front door to any other front door in the world in 1 ticket/payment. Imagine not even having to switch vessels with the vehicle morphing from freeway driving to personal flight even to in-town or scenic driving (or flight) with different routes, handling and displays. I’d like to float around in a bubble, like Glinda the good witch

TomJansen 21d ago
Iets first try to get inter-European train tickets shall we?

darthoctopus 22d ago

I think it will be interesting to see how this plays out for Waymo, as (unlike Uber in Zagreb) they will be competing with a world-class public transport system. A bold move! But perhaps that only goes to show how far ahead of the competition Waymo is, if they are this confident.

jaapz 21d ago
Uber is doing fine in Munchen as well, afaik. There are still people who want to pay a premium for them to be picked up where they are and dropped off where they need to be.
amunozo 21d ago
Taxis and public transport have coexisted since forever. They just serve different occasions and/or people. Why would it be different with Waymo?
pkos98 21d ago
> world-class public transport It’s really not at all at the same level as other European cities. It’s so bad that basically every year high up officials write a Brandbrief (urgent appeal) to either Deutsche Bahn or Ministry of transport that the situation is unbearable. Having lives in 3 different German cities, it’s by far the worst and most unreliable. In contrast to the US, many people exclusively rely upon public transport and eg a drivers license costs north of 4K € (approx 5k USD), in addition to much higher gasoline prices - making a car way less affordable. # 1. State Minister Bernreiter's Brandbrief to DB InfraGO (2026) https://www.bayern.de/kritik-an-langsamfahrstellen/ https://www.bayern.de/kritik-an-langsamfahrstellen/ # 2. Pullach Municipal Brandbrief on the S7 (2025) https://www.pullach.de/buergerbrief-uns-reicht-es-jetzt-gemeinde-verschickt-brandbrief-zur-s7/ https://www.pullach.de/buergerbrief-uns-reicht-es-jetzt-geme... # 3. MVV & Stakeholders Brandbrief to Deutsche Bahn (2022) https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/s-bahn-muss-zuverlaessiger-werden-mvv-brandbrief-an-deutsche-bahn-art-786361 https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/s-bahn-muss-zu... # 4. Mayors' Joint Transit Funding Brandbrief (2025) https://www.bild.de/politik/friedrich-merz-neuer-brandbrief-an-kanzler-aus-muenchen-und-stuttgart-69135efa2c4a42deba35bcf6 https://www.bild.de/politik/friedrich-merz-neuer-brandbrief-... # 5. Landräte Transit Cuts Warning Brandbrief (2024) https://in-motion.me/articles/2024-12-22_es-drohen-kuerzungen-im-nahverkehr-landrat-schreibt-brandbrief-an-soeder https://in-motion.me/articles/2024-12-22_es-drohen-kuerzunge... # 6. Pro Bahn Munich Analysis & Brandbrief (2024) https://www.pro-bahn.de/oberbayern/pbp/pbp202401.pdf https://www.pro-bahn.de/oberbayern/pbp/pbp202401.pdf

hulitu 22d ago

Oh no. The traffic in München is allready crap. Noone needs those selfstopping monsters.

lava_pidgeon 22d ago

Related vw self driving project in Hamburg https://www.moia.io/de-DE/blog/autonome-mobilitaet-in-hamburg-testen https://www.moia.io/de-DE/blog/autonome-mobilitaet-in-hambur...

ece 21d ago

I've learned to be wary of these cars in the bay area, they seem to cut it close often, and they get stuck because they're not L5. I hope municipalities know what they're getting.

Stevvo 21d ago

Curious how different the safety outcomes will be to the US. A Waymo is safer than an American driver, but so is a European driver. A driver from Norway is even safer than a Waymo.