Those driverless shuttles you may have spotted around Punggol are no longer just a futuristic experiment, as members of the public have been able to hop on them since April 2026. Now, Singapore is getting something a little more ambitious – taxis that drive themselves.
Waymo, the company behind those fully driverless taxis you may have seen in viral videos from the US, is planning to bring its robotaxi service here by 2028. Unlike the Punggol shuttles, which currently run along fixed routes, Waymo’s service is designed to let you book a car through an app and get dropped off at your destination without a human driver behind the wheel.
So yes, the day you open an app, watch a car pull up, and realise there’s literally nobody sitting in the driver’s seat is getting closer. There are still a few hoops to clear before that happens, though. Here’s what we know about Waymo’s Singapore rollout so far, including when you can actually ride one, what cars it’ll use, and whether this means our rides are about to get a lot more robotic.
Waymo started as Google’s self-driving car project in 2009 before becoming a standalone company under Alphabet.
Today, it operates fully autonomous ride-hailing services in several US cities. Riders can book a Waymo through an app, with the vehicle arriving without a human driver behind the wheel.
Waymo says its vehicles have completed more than 200 million fully autonomous miles globally, with the company continuing to expand into new cities. It is also preparing for international operations, including a planned commercial launch in Tokyo in 2027.
For Singapore, however, the service is still some way from becoming a regular transport option.
Public rides are expected to start in 2028, but there will be several stages before you can actually summon one.
In the coming months, Waymo’s initial vehicles are expected to arrive on our shores, and preparations for local operations will begin. Sometime in 2027, the vehicles will undergo local testing and familiarisation on Singapore roads. Finally, in 2028, public rides are expected to begin. |
The local testing phase is important because autonomous vehicles cannot simply arrive here and immediately start ferrying passengers around. They need to demonstrate that they can handle Singapore-specific road conditions, traffic patterns and weather before being allowed to progress towards driverless passenger operations.
Singapore’s existing AV framework already requires operators to go through deployment-readiness assessments, including demonstrating that vehicles can cover sufficient distances without intervention and handle different traffic scenarios within their authorised operating areas. So yes, the robotaxi has homework.
Waymo isn’t starting in Punggol. Its testing and preparations will begin in the western part of Singapore, specifically around Labrador and Harbourfront, covering everyday use cases like commuting to work, weekend outings, and serving industrial areas that currently have fewer transport options.
Meanwhile, the existing Punggol trial is expanding too. Instead of running on fixed routes, it’ll shift to point-to-point service across the whole estate, with more pick-up and drop-off points being added over time, including a route to Sengkang General Hospital.
Beyond that, the government also plans to bring autonomous vehicles to more HDB towns further from the city centre, with Tampines North and Tengah named as likely candidates.
Yes, the planned public service is intended to be fully driverless. That is different from some of Singapore’s current autonomous vehicle trials, where a safety operator remains onboard.
This isn’t Singapore’s first rodeo with self-driving vehicles. The government set up a testing facility called CETRAN at NTU all the way back in 2015, long before autonomous vehicles felt like a real possibility. For years, the tech stayed mostly in closed environments like the airport and seaport, since driverless cars weren’t quite ready for the chaos of actual city roads.
Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) proposed AV regulatory framework specifically distinguishes between different roles in the ecosystem, including AV technology providers, fleet operators, onboard safety operators and remote operators. The government is also developing rules covering how these parties will be regulated during both testing and commercial operations.
During the earlier testing and familiarisation stages, don’t be surprised if you see trained personnel involved. Singapore’s existing AV trials typically begin with familiarisation runs before passenger operations, while safety operators gain experience with the vehicles. By the time Waymo’s public service begins in 2028, though, the intention is for the ride itself to be driverless.
Waymo vehicles use a combination of sensors including lidar, cameras, and radar to perceive their surroundings.
These systems allow the vehicle to detect road users, obstacles, traffic conditions and other objects around it before deciding how to navigate the road.
That is particularly relevant in Singapore, where an autonomous vehicle has to contend with everything from motorcycles filtering between lanes to cyclists, pedestrians, buses, ERP systems, and the occasional driver who changes lanes with approximately 0.3 seconds of warning.
Waymo says its autonomous driving system has been trained and tested across millions of miles of driving, but its US safety data should still be viewed in context. Those figures come from Waymo and relate primarily to its existing operations overseas, rather than proving how the system will perform specifically on Singapore roads.
Singapore has been testing autonomous vehicles for years, so Waymo isn’t exactly entering virgin territory.
The country began conducting autonomous vehicle trials in the 2010s, including early self-driving taxi trials by nuTonomy. More recently, autonomous shuttles have been deployed in places such as Punggol and Sentosa.
MOT currently describes AVs as a way of augmenting Singapore’s public transport network, particularly for first- and last-mile connections. Public autonomous shuttles are already operating in Punggol, while autonomous buses are also being piloted. That makes robotaxis potentially useful for more than just replacing a regular taxi.
For example, imagine taking a driverless car from your HDB block to the nearest MRT station during a thunderstorm, instead of walking 10 minutes with one hand holding an umbrella and the other trying not to drop your phone.
Waymo’s service is better thought of as another point-to-point transport option rather than an immediate replacement for Singapore’s existing taxi and private-hire-car network.
The Singapore Government has also said that autonomous vehicles will complement the existing taxi and private-hire ecosystem. In July 2026, MOT announced measures to help existing drivers transition into new roles as AVs become more widely adopted, including training pathways for AV-related jobs.
Minister Siow was clear that trains and buses will stay the backbone of getting around Singapore, with autonomous vehicles filling in the gaps instead; think areas human drivers aren’t keen to serve, or after-hours trips when public transport has stopped running. Waymo’s own pitch leans the same way, positioning itself as a way to bridge the first and last mile between your home and the nearest MRT station rather than competing with it directly.
The entire fleet also runs on electric power, which ties into the Singapore Green Plan 2030’s goals around cutting emissions and car ownership. Waymo says its current global fleet prevents an estimated 480 metric tonnes of CO2 from road travel every week, a figure based on its existing US operations rather than a Singapore-specific forecast.
Waymo has been using electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles for its existing robotaxi fleet.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana and Minister of Transport Jeffrey Siow.
Image credit: Waymo
However, its global fleet is evolving. The company is also rolling out newer purpose-built autonomous vehicles and has partnerships involving vehicles such as the Hyundai IONIQ 5.
So while Jaguar I-PACEs are expected as part of the initial Singapore rollout, the exact vehicle mix for the 2028 public service may change as Waymo’s fleet develops.
This is probably the biggest question for anyone thinking about getting into a car with nobody driving it. Waymo says its autonomous vehicles have completed tens of millions of fully driverless trips, and it has published safety analyses comparing its vehicles with human-driven vehicles in its US operating areas.
Singapore is also currently working on a more comprehensive legal framework for autonomous vehicles covering areas such as safety, liability, insurance and enforcement. So before 2028, there will be plenty more rules and safety requirements to work out.
This is one of the more interesting challenges for an autonomous vehicle operating here. Singapore has frequent heavy rain, thunderstorms and wet roads, all of which can affect visibility and sensor performance.
That’s one reason local testing matters. An autonomous vehicle that works well on a dry Californian road still needs to prove it can handle Singapore’s very different driving environment.
Singapore’s AV deployment framework requires vehicles to demonstrate their ability to handle different traffic scenarios within their authorised operating areas before progressing towards driverless operations.
2028 is now a concrete target, rather than some vague sci-fi future. Singapore is already moving beyond small autonomous vehicle experiments, with public shuttle services, autonomous bus pilots and a new regulatory framework being developed for wider AV deployment.
Waymo’s entry adds another major player to that mix, and if everything stays on schedule, Singaporeans could soon have the very cool experience of opening an app, watching a car pull up, getting into the back seat and realising there’s nobody in front.
More on the future of transport in Singapore:
Photography by Aditi Kashyap.
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