Waymo halts freeway rides after robotaxis struggle in construction zones

Key points

• Waymo has suspended robotaxi service on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami as it works to improve performance in construction zones, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday.
• Waymo said it’s in the process of integrating “recent technical learnings into our software and expect to resume these routes soon.” Waymo robotaxis are still operating on surface streets in those cities.
• The decision to pull robotaxis off of freeways follows Waymo’s decision to pause operations in Atlanta and San Antonio, Texas to address problems with flooding in those cities.
• The company announced a software recall last week that was supposed to help its fleet avoid flooded areas in San Antonio, in which service has been halted for weeks, while it worked on a more permanent fix.
• At least one robotaxi was spotted getting stuck in Atlanta this week, causing Waymo to suspend operations there, too.