Waymo Is in Nashville Now. We Tried It.
Waymo is in Nashville now.
If you start paying attention, you’ll begin to notice self-driving cars moving around the city, and you can ride in one!
We started seeing them around town, got curious, and decided to try it for ourselves.
Watch Us Try Waymo in Nashville
So, What Is Waymo?
Waymo is a self-driving ride service. Think Uber or Lyft, except when the car pulls up, there’s no driver in the front seat. You request a ride through the app, get in, buckle up, press start, and the car drives itself.
Waymo is Google’s self-driving car project, and Nashville officially launched Waymo rides in April 2026, with service starting in a roughly 60-square-mile area that includes places like Broadway, 12 South, Midtown, and East Nashville. Waymo has also said it’s testing at the Nashville airport, with plans to serve travelers there later.
So it’s not just “coming someday.” It’s here.
What It Was Like
The first few minutes were strange, There’s no driver. The wheel is moving. The car is stopping and turning. You’re just sitting in the backseat like, “Is this really happening?”
Then, after a little while, your brain kind of accepts it. It didn’t feel like a theme park ride. It felt like a ride across town, just with one major difference: nobody was driving.
But honestly, we liked it more than we expected.
The car felt calm when we got in. There was spa-type music playing, our initials were displayed on the top of the car, and everything felt clean and controlled.
You can adjust the temperature from the app, pick your own music, and just settle in. And we’re not going to lie, one of the best parts was the lack of awkward human interaction.
No weird driver conversation, strange smells in the car, questionable driving choices, or wondering what kind of rideshare experience you’re about to have.
We’re not saying every Uber or Lyft ride is bad. We’ve had plenty of good ones. But we’ve also had some really negative experiences, and rideshare can be hit-or-miss. With this, there was something nice about not having to think about that.
It also wasn’t crazy expensive, and you don’t have to tip! We’re all for tipping people for a job well done, and we’re happy to tip drivers, but you don’t have to tip the robot car. That part was kind of nice.
The ride itself was surprisingly smooth. It navigated traffic well, handled speed bumps, and responded quickly when another car pulled out in front of us. It even detected people waiting at a crosswalk and yielded to them, which is more than we can say for a lot of human drivers!
Now, it wasn’t perfect.
It got a little confused picking us up, and we had to walk over to it. So there are definitely still a few quirks.
And yes, we’ve seen the crazy videos and horror stories online too. We’re not saying our one limited ride settles the debate. But our experience was smooth, comfortable, and honestly pretty fun.
Take that for what it’s worth!
Why People Have Mixed Feelings About It
Some people are excited about this.
Nashville is a car-dependent city. Public transportation is limited. Rideshare can be expensive. Traffic is annoying. So another way to get around will be interesting to a lot of people.
Other people are not into it at all, and we get that, too.
A car driving around with no human behind the wheel raises real questions. Safety. Jobs. Tech companies. Traffic. Whether cities need this kind of thing in the first place!
We’re not here to settle any of that.
But like it or not, Waymo is part of Nashville now.
What It Says About Nashville
Nashville keeps growing and changing.
Nashville still has country music, Broadway, Southern culture, and all the stuff people associate with it. But it’s also becoming more urban, more expensive, more tech-forward, and more complicated.
Waymo feels like one of those moments where you realize the city is not frozen in time. It’s moving.
Maybe faster than some people want. Maybe in ways people are excited about. Probably both.
Would You Try It?
Some people will download the app immediately, some will wait until a friend tries it first, and some will avoid it at all costs.
Like it or not, it’s here.
Would you try it? That’s really the question.
Thinking About Moving to Nashville?
If you’re moving to Nashville, figuring out where to live is about more than just picking an apartment.
It’s the neighborhood.
The commute.
The walkability.
The restaurants.
The traffic.
The way your everyday life is going to feel.
That’s what we help people figure out.
We’re licensed agents, and our apartment locating service is completely free for renters. We help people narrow down the right neighborhoods, compare apartments, and find a place that fits their actual life.
If you’re moving to Nashville and want help finding the right apartment, reach out.
We’d love to help!
