Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Sept. 18, 2026, named Alphabet's Waymo the city-state's newest autonomous vehicle operator, joining ComfortDelGro and Grab. Waymo is working with the Ministry of Transport and LTA on a phased path toward paid ride-hailing through the Waymo app in 2028. According to news reports, it is Waymo's first move into Southeast Asia. The government paired the approval with a pledge that self-driving cars will not be rolled out faster than affected drivers can be retrained and supported.
No one in Singapore can ride in a Waymo yet. LTA's move names Waymo an operator and sets out a timeline: its vehicles are expected in the next few months, and trained specialists will start manual driving in 2027. The 2028 launch of paid rides is an aim that depends on safety reviews and approvals, not a fixed date.
Waymo's Sept. 17 blog post said its first fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles will arrive as it sets up local operations. In 2027, specialists will adapt the Waymo Driver, its self-driving system, to Singapore's road layouts and monsoon weather before any public launch. LTA said it will work closely with Waymo so deployments meet safety and regulatory requirements and help build public trust. Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow welcomed Waymo as the newest autonomous vehicle operator and said the partnership should create new transport options, capabilities and jobs.
LTA tied the announcement to drivers' jobs, saying the government will not allow autonomous vehicle deployment to run ahead of its ability to retrain and support affected drivers. That builds on a manpower transition package announced in July 2026, and includes helping drivers gain new skills or move into roles created by the growing self-driving sector, working with operators and with its tripartite partners, the unions and employers.
Waymo points to its U.S. record: more than 20 million fully self-driving rides and, by its own figures, a 94 percent reduction in injury-causing crashes compared with human drivers in the U.S. cities where it runs without a driver. None of that has been measured on Singapore's roads.
The pace of approvals for each phase, the size of the Singapore fleet and how far the July 2026 package for drivers stretches as ComfortDelGro, Grab and Waymo operate side by side are all still to be settled.