Robotaxis are active in more cities than ever.
Here’s the impact on rideshare so far.
Two years of driver-level data from Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco show how platform fees, driver pay, and work hours have shifted in the cities where AVs operate, and how that compares with the rest of the country.
The two-year change in AV cities
What changed in AV cities from Q2 2024 to Q2 2026
We compared human-driven rideshare in the five AV cities with the rest of the country across platform fees, driver pay, and work hours.
Platform fee rates fell 17.6% in AV cities. In the rest of the country, they rose 6.9%.
The median platform fee rate fell in every AV city we tracked. Median fees per trip fell 13.8%, from $2.61 to $2.25, while rising 19.2% nationwide. Two years ago, platforms collected $0.36 less per trip in AV cities than elsewhere. By Q2 2026, the gap was $1.29.
Fee rates fell in all five AV cities, from San Francisco to Austin.
In San Francisco, the median platform fee rate dropped from 19.0% to 10.2%, and fees per trip fell from $3.10 to $1.64, while the median rider price stayed at $16.95. Atlanta's fee rate fell from 18.4% to 13.1%. In Austin, where Tesla launched its Robotaxi service alongside Waymo, the fee rate fell 18.4%.
Incentives fell 56%. Bonuses nearly tripled.
In AV cities, average incentive pay per trip fell from $0.41 to $0.18, while bonus pay per trip rose from $0.50 to $1.43. Nationwide, both went up. Platforms appear to be changing how they pay drivers in AV cities.
In San Francisco, riders paid the same. However, platform fees fell 47%, and drivers earned 16% more per quarter.
This report has the city-by-city data behind every number.
Download the reportExplore the complete findings in the full report
Two years of driver-level data on take rates, fees, driver pay, and supply in the five longest-running AV cities, compared with the rest of the country. It also lists every active and announced AV ride-hail market in the U.S.
Download the full report today and explore the latest insights
In our latest report, you’ll discover:
- Platform fee rates and fees per trip in each AV city, compared with the national baseline
- How driver pay and work hours changed in markets where AVs operate
- All 15 active AV ride-hail metros, plus announced launches through 2028