Are robotaxis finally here?

Are robotaxis finally here? Fully self-driving cars for hire have been hailed as the technology of the future for years now. That future has finally arrived — but only in some cities. ROB SCHMITZ, HOST: Robotaxis, fully self-driving cars for hire, have been hailed as the technology of the future for years now. Has that future finally arrived? NPR's car maven Camila Domonoske joins us right now. Camila, hey. CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE: Hi, Rob. SCHMITZ: So, you know, I keep hearing from my friends in San Francisco and Los Angeles that they are able to order these self-driving cabs, and they're sort of, like, appearing everywhere. Are we going to start seeing more of these in the rest of the country anytime soon? DOMONOSKE: Companies definitely have big plans for expansion. Currently, there are about a dozen big cities where these are everyday technology. A lot of them are Waymos. That's really the industry leader here. These are these white electric vehicles with a bunch of sensors perched on top that kind of looks like a spinning top hat. You might have... SCHMITZ: Right. DOMONOSKE: ...Seen them even in cities where they aren't available yet. They're doing testing. SCHMITZ: Yeah, I saw one the other day in D.C. here, and it didn't look like anyone is taking it for a ride. DOMONOSKE: Not yet. SCHMITZ: Yeah. DOMONOSKE: But that is on the long list of about 20 cities that Waymo plans to expand into. I asked David Margines, the head of product management at Waymo, about this question of whether the robotaxi era has finally arrived. DAVID MARGINES: I think the driverless future is absolutely here, and it's rolling out to more and more places. It's just not everywhere yet. DOMONOSKE: And then there are other companies with plans, too.