Nov 20 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Waymo will

expand its robotaxi operations to Minneapolis, Tampa and New

Orleans in the coming days, the ride-hailing service provider

said on Thursday, as it accelerates the broad rollout of its

services in the U.S.

The company said it will begin operations in the new markets

with human-driven vehicles, following a phased playbook it has

used in its existing public-service cities.

This approach typically starts with detailed mapping and

data collection, followed by supervised autonomous testing,

restricted public access and, eventually, fully driverless

rides.

Waymo, which Alphabet carved out of Google's self-driving

car project in 2016, is the only operator in the U.S. offering

paid robotaxi services with no safety drivers or in-vehicle

attendants. It fields a fleet of more than 1,500 vehicles.

With Tesla, Amazon.com's ( AMZN ) Zoox and other

rivals investing heavily in autonomous driving, Waymo's latest

push highlights an intensifying race to bring fully self-driving

vehicles to market.

Safety, performance, technology maturity and cooperation

with regulators are emerging as key battlegrounds in that

contest, as companies vie for future market share.

Waymo on Tuesday began operating fully autonomous vehicles

in Miami and announced its plans to roll out operations for its

employees in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando in the

coming weeks, ahead of a public launch for riders in 2026.