Waymo has completely suspended its robotaxi services in Atlanta and San Antonio after a vehicle got stuck on a flooded street. The company also stopped highway rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami, as Heise reports citing TechCrunch. The reason is reports of problems with robotaxis in construction zones.
A user reported on X that a Waymo robotaxi in a highway construction zone “raced through pylons, dodged huge trucks, and fled from police.” Waymo confirmed the suspension but did not cite specific incidents as the reason. The company is working to integrate “recent technical findings into our software” and expects to resume the routes soon.
In Atlanta and San Antonio, Waymo initially distributed an update to avoid flooding. Nevertheless, a robotaxi drove into a flooded street again and got stuck — with no passengers on board. The vehicle was recovered after about an hour. Waymo acknowledged that the update did not provide a “definitive remedy.” The heavy rain in Atlanta came so suddenly that the National Weather Service did not issue timely warnings.
Source: www.heise.de
