Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones

Waymo has suspended robotaxi work connected freeways successful San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami arsenic it works to amended show successful operation zones, the institution confirmed to TechCrunch connected Thursday.

Waymo said it’s successful the process of integrating “recent method learnings into our bundle and expect to resume these routes soon.” Waymo robotaxis are inactive operating connected aboveground streets successful those cities.

The determination to propulsion robotaxis disconnected of freeways follows Waymo’s determination to intermission operations successful Atlanta and San Antonio, Texas to code problems with flooding successful those cities. The institution announced a bundle callback past week that was expected to assistance its fleet debar flooded areas successful San Antonio, successful which work has been halted for weeks, portion it worked connected a much imperishable fix. At slightest 1 robotaxi was spotted getting stuck successful Atlanta this week, causing Waymo to suspend operations there, too.

These work interruptions travel arsenic Waymo is pushing to grow to a fig of caller cities astir the globe this year, with the extremity of offering arsenic galore arsenic 1 cardinal paid rides per week astatine the extremity of 2026. Waymo is besides presently investigating its caller Zeekr-built robotaxi, which it calls Ojai, and is expected to commencement offering rides successful that conveyance successful the coming months.

Waymo started offering road rides in precocious 2025. Putting its robotaxis connected these higher-speed roads has been important to its enlargement successful ample metro areas, arsenic it helps the institution amended link riders to section airports, and reduces thrust times by skipping aboveground streets.

In the Bay Area successful particular, freeway question has helped Waymo dramatically chopped travel times crossed the peninsula that antecedently took anyplace from 45 minutes to implicit an hour.

Waymo didn’t mention a circumstantial incidental down its determination to suspend freeway driving this week. But the company’s robotaxis person been spotted struggling with road operation zones. On May 19, X idiosyncratic @Elliot_slade posted a video claiming that his Waymo thrust “blasted done cones” and claimed the conveyance was “chased” by police.