Robotaxi in Chicago: is there a driverless taxi yet?
Chicago robotaxi status, checked
- Waymo
- Mapping and manual testing since February 2026, with human drivers; no riders. On Waymo’s “Up Next” list, no date
- Tesla Robotaxi
- Chicago not named; Cybercabs spotted in Chicago, no service
- Illinois law
- Driverless cars are not authorized; the HB 4663 pilot bill is stalled
- O’Hare and Midway
- No robotaxi pickups and none announced
- DockDuty depot in Chicago
- None. No DockDuty depot is operating anywhere yet
Every line is sourced below. What Chicago is waiting on is Springfield.
No, not yet. As of October 29, 2026, no robotaxi, driverless taxi or self-driving taxi carries paying riders in Chicago. The Waymo cars you may have seen downtown have a person driving: on February 25, 2026, Waymo announced it would begin “laying the early groundwork for our ride-hailing operations in Chicago,” and state Rep. Kam Buckner, quoted in the same post, described it as “initial mapping and manual testing” (Waymo, February 25, 2026). Illinois has no law that lets a car drive itself for hire, and the bill that would start a pilot is stalled in Springfield (WSIU, October 22, 2026).
Chicago in four lines
- Waymo: mapping and manual testing since February 2026, and Chicago is on Waymo’s “Up Next” list. No riders, no date.
- The law: driverless cars are not authorized in Illinois. The Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Act (HB 4663) has not cleared either chamber and may come back in the November veto session.
- Tesla: has named no Illinois city. Cybercabs have been spotted in Chicago; Tesla offers no service there.
- Airports: nothing at O’Hare or Midway.
Is there a robotaxi in Chicago?
No. Here is who is doing what on Chicago streets, checked October 29, 2026:
- Waymo: mapping, not riding. Waymo announced it would begin “laying the early groundwork for our ride-hailing operations in Chicago”; Rep. Kam Buckner described it as “initial mapping and manual testing” (Waymo, February 25, 2026). A photo published by WSIU in October 2026 shows a Waymo on the Near North Side with a driver at the wheel (WSIU, October 22, 2026). Waymo’s city page lists Chicago as “Up Next” with no date (Waymo, cities served and “Up Next”, checked October 29, 2026).
- Tesla: Cybercabs seen, no service. No Illinois city is among the “Coming Soon” markets in Tesla’s October 21, 2026 Robotaxi Safety Report (Not a Tesla App, October 21, 2026). Cybercabs have been spotted in Chicago; Tesla offers no service there (Smart Cities Dive robotaxi tracker, July 7 entry in the tracker updated October 2, 2026).
- Zoox, May Mobility, Uber and Lyft: when we searched on October 29, 2026, none had said anything about robotaxi rides in Chicago.
Why nobody can launch yet: the Illinois bill
Driverless cars are not yet authorized in Illinois (WSIU, October 22, 2026). The main attempt to change that is HB 4663, the Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Act, sponsored by state Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), who also welcomed Waymo’s Chicago mapping in February. What it would do, and where it stands:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where testing would be allowed | Counties with more than one million residents (which means Cook), Sangamon County, and the Metro East counties of Madison, St. Clair and Monroe |
| Cars on the street right away? | No. Buckner describes “a very controlled program” with a limited number of cars to gather data |
| Local control | Section 50 would bar home-rule cities, Chicago included, from regulating the cars themselves |
| Status | Stalled. It still has to clear the House Rules Committee, a substantive committee and both chambers |
| Next chance | The November 2026 veto session, which Buckner says he hopes for but is not rushing |
Sources for the table: WSIU (October 22, 2026) for the counties, the “very controlled program” quote, the status and the veto session; a Streetsblog Chicago op-ed by Ellen Steinke (October 23, 2026) for Section 50. A second bill, HB 4789, the Automated Driving Systems Development Act, would create a review committee inside the Illinois Department of Transportation (WSIU).
The bill has organized opposition. SEIU Local 1 opposes the pilot act, and its spokesperson said the union’s analysis finds each autonomous car replaces four human drivers; the Illinois Environmental Council has raised congestion and pollution concerns (WSIU, October 22, 2026). Even if HB 4663 passed in November, it describes a limited pilot, not a citywide launch. This is not legal advice.
Neighborhoods and suburbs: place by place
With no service there is no Chicago service map. These are the reports we could find, area by area.
| Place | Robotaxi rides | What has been reported |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown and the Loop | None | Waymo mapping with drivers since February 2026; Waymo has not published its routes |
| Near North Side | None | Waymo with a driver photographed on the Near North Side (WSIU) |
| Near West Side | None | An unconfirmed spotter report of a Tesla lot near the United Center; see our depot database |
| South Side, Hyde Park | None | Nothing reported |
| O’Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) | None | No pickup program announced |
| Evanston, Oak Park, Naperville | None | Nothing reported |
Can a robotaxi take you to O’Hare or Midway?
Not yet. For now it is the CTA Blue Line, the Orange Line or a ride-hail with a driver: neither O’Hare nor Midway has a robotaxi pickup, and our October 29, 2026 search turned up no plan for one. HB 4663 as described would allow testing in Cook County, which contains both airports, but a test pilot is not airport service.
Will Chicago winters stop robotaxis?
Nobody can tell you yet, because no robotaxi has run a Chicago winter. Waymo says it has tested in snowy cities to prepare, and it runs driverless rides in Denver, where it started letting invited riders in on September 1, 2026; our Denver guide covers what is known there. Lake-effect snow on Lake Shore Drive is a different test, and nothing published so far answers it.
What would have to happen for Chicago rides
- A law in Springfield. HB 4663 or something like it passing both chambers and being signed.
- A pilot, then a service. As written, HB 4663 starts with a controlled pilot in Cook and a few other counties, not open service.
- An operator’s decision. Waymo is the only company that has said publicly it is laying groundwork for Chicago rides.
Own a car, not just riding?
A Chicago owner hoping to put a car on a robotaxi network has two things in the way. The first is Springfield: HB 4663 describes a controlled pilot run by companies, not an open door for private cars. The second is that the networks themselves run their own fleets. Waymo owns its cars, 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).
DockDuty has no Illinois depot, site, lease or date, and Chicago is not a market in our reservation picker. Reservations attach to the DockDuty network rather than a city, so an Illinois owner can still hold a stall: $450, refundable on request until onboarding. Orlando leads, with its depot targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027, and no DockDuty depot is open anywhere yet. We have no agreement with Tesla and we sell stalls, so weigh this accordingly; it is not investment advice. Illinois’s status sits alongside every other state’s on our robotaxi law tracker.
Robotaxi in Chicago: FAQ
Is there a robotaxi or driverless taxi in Chicago?
No. As of October 29, 2026, no robotaxi or self-driving taxi carries paying riders in Chicago. Waymo has been mapping and testing the city with human drivers since February 2026, and driverless cars are not yet authorized in Illinois.
Is Waymo coming to Chicago?
Waymo says it is laying the groundwork. It announced the early groundwork on February 25, 2026, with mapping and manual testing, and its city page lists Chicago as “Up Next” with no date (checked October 29, 2026).
Are self-driving cars legal in Illinois?
Not without a driver. Driverless cars are not yet authorized in Illinois. HB 4663, the Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Act, would start a limited pilot in Cook and a few other counties, but it is stalled and may return in the November 2026 veto session. This is not legal advice.
Is Tesla Robotaxi coming to Chicago?
Not on anything Tesla has published. Cybercabs have been spotted in Chicago; Tesla offers no service there, and no Illinois city is among the Coming Soon markets in its October 21, 2026 Robotaxi Safety Report.
Can a robotaxi take me to O’Hare or Midway?
Not yet. Neither airport has a robotaxi pickup, and our October 29, 2026 search turned up no plan for one.
Does DockDuty have a depot in Chicago?
No. DockDuty has no Illinois depot, site, lease or date, and no DockDuty depot is open anywhere yet. Orlando leads, with its depot targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.
Sources.
- Waymo, “From the road” (Waymo in Chicago), February 25, 2026; Waymo, cities served and “Up Next”, checked October 29, 2026.
- WSIU, “Bill aims to study how self-driving vehicles can be integrated into public transit,” October 22, 2026.
- Streetsblog Chicago, op-ed by Ellen Steinke, October 23, 2026.
- Smart Cities Dive, “Robotaxis: The latest developments,” July 7 entry in the tracker updated October 2, 2026.
- Tesla Robotaxi Safety Report, October 21, 2026, as reported by Not a Tesla App, October 21, 2026; Tesla, Cybercab First Responder Interaction Plan, version 1.2, checked October 23, 2026.