Singapore transport agencies will oversee Waymo's planned tests

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority says it will work with Waymo to meet safety and regulatory requirements as the company plans 2027 testing. Waymo is targeting fully autonomous public trips in 2028 through its app. The announcement describes planned activity and does not identify a formal approval decision.

Waymo’s Singapore plan is being prepared with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA). The company says it will establish local operations ahead of testing. Its first modified Jaguar I-Pace EVs are expected to arrive in the coming months, though the source does not state a quantity or provide a detailed schedule.

Waymo will start with supervised testing

Waymo expects to begin testing its autonomous fleet in Singapore in 2027. Initially, trained autonomous driving specialists are to operate the EVs manually while the company adapts Waymo Driver to local conditions. The source says that work includes road layouts and weather patterns.

This description indicates preparatory testing before the service the company wants to offer the public. It does not give the testing scope, duration, permit conditions, or a date for any regulatory decision. The LTA’s statement is that it will work closely with Waymo so operations meet safety and regulatory requirements; no approval or licence is reported as granted.

Earlier trials provide local context

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said autonomous vehicles had travelled more than 160,000 km on fixed routes in Singapore without a major accident. He also reported that the current passenger-vehicle count was 16, all operating in Punggol. Singapore expects that number to grow to several hundred with Waymo’s arrival, but the source does not specify a timetable for that increase.

Those figures concern autonomous passenger vehicles being tested in Singapore and should not be read as Waymo-specific fleet data. Siow said employees at Google Singapore could potentially be the first riders, apparently as part of internal testing. That possibility is not presented as a confirmed public-service arrangement by Waymo.

Public service remains a company target

Waymo aims to offer fully autonomous public trips via the Waymo app in 2028. The company has also created a dedicated website page for progress updates. The source does not provide fare details, service coverage, vehicle numbers, or launch conditions, and it does not describe a public consultation or an adopted regulatory measure.

Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana attended the announcement with Siow. Mawakana said the company’s approach aligns with Singapore’s focus on transport reliability, sustainability and people, while the LTA separately described its role in safety and regulatory coordination. Those statements establish the parties’ positions, but do not detail technical standards or the process for demonstrating compliance.

The next stated milestone is planned fleet testing in 2027, followed by the company’s targeted public service year of 2028. The source gives no specific testing date or account of the requirements still to be met. It also does not state whether the LTA has set additional conditions or whether any formal authorisation has been issued. The timing, scope and regulatory status of public trips remain matters for subsequent updates.