Waymo to launch Singapore robotaxi service in 2028; Merced’s Castle takes note

Key Takeaways

Waymo says it will roll out driverless ride-hailing in Singapore in 2028.
Singapore’s transport officials expect initial manual driving in 2027.
Merced County’s Castle Commerce Center hosts AV testing and has included Waymo trials.
Waymo hasn’t announced service for the Central Valley; the closest public rides are in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

A single orange cone sat scuffed on the city-course at Castle Commerce Center on Thursday morning. County officials have pitched this former Air Force base near Atwater as a testbed for self-driving tech for years, and Waymo has been among the companies to put miles here. The company’s new move is half a world away, but the implications land close to home by sentence three: global robotaxi growth shapes the jobs, training and suppliers that touch Merced County.

Waymo sets a date

Alphabet’s Waymo said it plans to launch a fully driverless, all‑electric ride‑hailing service in Singapore in 2028. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority said the program will start with vehicles doing manual driving and validation in 2027, then open to paying riders a year later. It’s the company’s first announced service in Southeast Asia, and it follows steady expansion in U.S. markets where the company already offers public trips.

Waymo currently carries riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and the Phoenix metro. No Central Valley city is on its public roadmap. Not yet.

Why this matters in the Valley

Merced County turned part of Castle into a proving ground run with TRC California, adding an oval, a city course and vehicle dynamics pads geared for autonomous and advanced driver‑assist testing. Economic development staff have long said this kind of facility can bring vendor contracts, light manufacturing and engineering work to the region. Waymo’s Singapore timeline signals that operators still want controlled sites, validation partners and trained technicians years before full commercial launch in a new city. Those are all roles Valley firms and workers can fill.

UC Merced has leaned into that pipeline. Engineering labs on campus are working on perception and control problems for autonomous systems, and faculty have public projects focused on making on‑vehicle AI faster and more reliable. Merced College has held campus forums on AI uses and risks as it reshapes short‑term certificates for industry needs. That’s not hype, it is course catalogs and grant announcements lining up with what operators say they need.

What local agencies and employers can do next

Transit and public works departments in Merced, Turlock and Madera track this space because curb rules, pickup zones and data‑sharing policies tend to travel with the fleets. Private employers track it because robotaxi rollouts often come with supplier hires for sensors, calibration and fleet maintenance, even when the rides launch somewhere else first. A clean takeaway for now is simple: Singapore’s date gives a planning clock. Local players can spend the next 12 to 24 months tightening workforce programs, vendor registrations and site availability at Castle.

Back on the Castle course, a breeze kicked grit along the painted crosswalk as a safety truck idled by the cones. Nothing glamorous, just work.

Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Newsdesk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.

Source

https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/business/article317280555.html