Robotaxi in Boston: is there a driverless taxi yet?

No, not yet. As of October 29, 2026, no robotaxi, driverless taxi or self-driving taxi carries paying riders in Boston or anywhere else in Massachusetts. Waymo has had cars on Boston streets with a trained driver behind the wheel and lists Boston as “Up Next” on its city page, but it says plainly that it will “first need the state to legalize fully autonomous vehicles” (CBS Boston, February 5, 2026). In 2026 the Legislature did not: both bills that would have set up a framework were sent to study.

Is there a robotaxi in Boston?

Not one you can hail. Here is everyone with an autonomous-vehicle story in Greater Boston, as of October 29, 2026:

• Waymo: visits, not rides. Waymo’s first Boston trip was a six-week manual test visit from May 19, 2025: a small number of cars drove Cambridge, Somerville, Boston and Logan Airport property with “trained safety drivers” behind the wheel, and the City of Cambridge said they would “not operate in autonomous mode” (City of Cambridge, May 2025). Waymo said in February 2026 it was returning, ready for cobblestones and roundabouts, and that the state has to change the law first (CBS Boston, February 5, 2026). In October 2026, PhillyVoice listed the Boston area among the places where Waymo is testing with a driver supervising (PhillyVoice, October 9, 2026).
• Waymo’s own list. Waymo’s city page names 15 places it serves riders and 17 as “Up Next”; Boston is in the second list, alongside New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, with no date (Waymo, cities served and “Up Next”, checked October 29, 2026).
• Tesla: no New England city on its list. The “Coming Soon” markets in Tesla’s October 21, 2026 Robotaxi Safety Report are all in the South and West (Not a Tesla App, October 21, 2026). A Tesla using FSD (Supervised) on Storrow Drive has a licensed driver responsible for it; that is not a robotaxi.
• Zoox, May Mobility, Uber, Lyft: no Massachusetts robotaxi plans that we could find on October 29, 2026.

Why Waymo can’t launch: the Massachusetts law

Massachusetts has never passed a law that lets a car carry passengers with nobody at the wheel. What exists is a testing process run by MassDOT. MassDOT told CBS Boston in February 2026 that “the first step for any company seeking to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads in Massachusetts would be to complete the ‘Application to Test’ with MassDOT,” and that Waymo had not done so at the time (CBS Boston, February 5, 2026).

Two bills in the 2025-26 session would have written real rules. Both were filed in February 2025, both got a hearing on June 24, 2025, and both were set aside:

“Accompanied a study order” is how the Legislature shelves a bill without a vote. Both have the same title, “An Act relative to providing multimodal transportation technologies” (Massachusetts Legislature bill pages, checked October 29, 2026). Any new attempt has to be filed again in the next two-year session, which begins in January 2027. Until a law passes, there is no legal path for a driverless ride in Boston, whoever the operator is. This is not legal advice.

What Boston City Hall has said

The city has been skeptical. At a July 2025 council hearing, Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge said Waymo had yet to show it could handle a city as complex as Boston: “If every Waymo drives like a confused out-of-state tourist, we will very quickly find them unwelcome” (Boston.com, February 6, 2026).

Boston city councilors proposed an ordinance that would bar commercial autonomous-vehicle operations until a study of the effect on ride-hail jobs and other permitting requirements are complete, and would then require a human safety operator who can intervene. In late October 2025 councilors said more hearings were likely before any full vote (Bloomberg via Transport Topics, October 29, 2025). We found no record of a vote since (searched October 29, 2026). A local Teamsters chapter and other unions have protested the rollout (Bloomberg via Transport Topics, October 29, 2025).

Cambridge, Somerville and the suburbs: place by place

Nobody has published a Boston-area robotaxi map, because nobody is allowed to run one. This table shows what has actually been reported for each place.

Can a robotaxi take you to Logan Airport?

No. No robotaxi serves Logan, and we found no announced autonomous pickup program there (searched October 29, 2026). Waymo’s 2025 manual test included Massport property at Logan, with a driver at the wheel (City of Cambridge, May 2025). Even in states where robotaxis run, airports have been among the last places they reach.

What would have to happen for Boston rides

Three things, roughly in this order, and none has a date:

• A state law. A bill that lets a car drive itself for hire, filed in the session that starts January 2027 and passed by both chambers.
• State and city sign-off. MassDOT’s testing process, plus whatever Boston can still require if the law leaves cities room. Whether a state law would override a Boston ordinance depends on how it is written.
• An operator’s decision. Waymo is the only company that has said it wants to launch in Boston.

For how other states handled the same question, see our robotaxi laws by state tracker, and for the closest comparable cities, our guides to New York and Philadelphia.

Own a car, not just riding?

If Boston does get driverless rides, the first cars will belong to the operator. Waymo owns every car in its fleet, and Tesla’s Cybercab first responder guide says “All Robotaxi vehicles are owned and operated by Tesla at this time” (Cybercab First Responder Interaction Plan, version 1.2, checked October 23, 2026). A Massachusetts law would also have to say whether a privately owned car can join a network at all, and neither 2025-26 bill got far enough to settle that.

DockDuty has nothing in Massachusetts: no depot, no site, no lease and no date, and Boston is not a market you can pick at checkout. Our stall reservations are network-wide rather than tied to a city, so a Boston owner can still hold one ($450, refundable on request until onboarding). Our lead market is Orlando, with its depot targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027; no DockDuty depot operates anywhere yet. We sell depot stalls and have no agreement with Tesla, so read this as a company with a stake. Not investment advice. The waiting-state list on our law tracker has a Boston option and sends one email when Massachusetts moves.

Robotaxi in Boston: FAQ

Is there a robotaxi or driverless taxi in Boston?

No. As of October 29, 2026, no robotaxi or self-driving taxi carries paying riders in Boston or anywhere in Massachusetts. Waymo has tested in Greater Boston with a trained driver behind the wheel, and says the state must legalize fully autonomous vehicles before it can offer rides.

Is Waymo coming to Boston?

Waymo says it wants to. Its city page lists Boston as “Up Next” with no date (checked October 29, 2026), and on February 5, 2026 it said it was returning to Boston for testing. It also said it will first need Massachusetts to legalize fully autonomous vehicles.

Are self-driving cars legal in Massachusetts?

Supervised testing is possible through MassDOT, but no Massachusetts law lets a car carry passengers with nobody at the wheel. The two 2025-26 bills that would have created rules, H.3634 and S.2379, were sent to study on April 6 and July 31, 2026. This is not legal advice.

Is Tesla Robotaxi coming to Boston?

Nothing says so. None of the Coming Soon cities in Tesla’s October 21, 2026 Robotaxi Safety Report is in New England, and Massachusetts law would not allow a driverless Tesla ride today anyway.

Can a robotaxi take me to Logan Airport?

No. Waymo’s 2025 manual test visit drove on Massport property with a driver, but nothing picks up riders at Logan, and we found no announced autonomous pickup plan there (searched October 29, 2026).

Does DockDuty have a depot in Boston?

No. There is no DockDuty site, lease or date anywhere in Massachusetts, and no DockDuty depot operates anywhere yet. Our lead market is Orlando, where the depot is targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.