Waymo has temporarily suspended its 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 is “in the process of integrating recent technological findings into our software, and these routes will be reinstated soon.” Waymo robotaxis are still operating on the streets of these cities.
The decision to remove robotaxis from highways follows Waymo’s decision to suspend operations in Atlanta and San Antonio, Texas, as the company deals with flooding issues in those cities. Last week, the company announced a recall for software that was supposed to help its vehicles avoid flooded areas in San Antonio. Service has been shut down in San Antonio for several weeks while they work on a more permanent fix. At least one robotaxis was found stranded in Atlanta this week, and Waymo also suspended operations there.
These service interruptions come as Waymo is pushing to expand into a number of new cities around the world this year, with the goal of offering up to 1 million paid rides per week by the end of 2026. Waymo is also currently testing a new Zeekr robotaxis called Ojai, and plans to start offering rides in its vehicles in the coming months.
Waymo began offering highway rides in late 2025. Bringing robotaxis to highways is critical to its expansion in metropolitan areas, as it helps the company better connect passengers to local airports and shortens ride times by skipping surface roads.
Particularly in the Bay Area, the use of expressways has allowed Waymo to significantly reduce travel time across the peninsula, which previously took 45 minutes to more than an hour.
Waymo did not mention the specific incident behind its decision to suspend highway driving this week. However, the company’s robotaxis have been seen struggling in highway construction zones. On May 19th, X user @Elliot_slade posted a video in which he claimed to have been “run through a cone” in a Waymo, and claimed the vehicle was “chase” by police.
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