Waymo suspends highway driving amid safety concerns

On Thursday, Waymo customers opened the app and I noticed Something unusual: No more highway service. Journeys that used to take a few minutes on the motorway were suddenly expected to last much longer on local roads.

The company later confirmed that it had halted highway driving in all of its US markets due to concerns about construction zones. It also temporarily suspended service in Atlanta and San Antonio due to outstanding issues related to flooded roads. This news comes after several of the company’s robotaxis were spotted driving through flooded roads at high speeds in Texas, forcing Waymo to stop. Program call version For its entire fleet.

The suspensions come as the Alphabet-owned company aggressively accelerates into new markets with the goal of reaching 1 million paid rides per week. (It currently makes about 500,000 trips per week.) Waymo is also about to deploy an entirely new vehicle, the Zeekr-built Ojai electric truck, which will debut in the sixth generation of the company’s self-driving software.

Waymo spokesman Chris Pappas said the decision to suspend highway driving was made due to concerns about construction zones, adding that driving on local roads was not affected. Pappas did not elaborate on the types of problems Waymo vehicles encounter in construction zones.

“We are committed to being good neighbors to our passengers and our communities,” Pappas said in a statement. “As part of this commitment, we are making proactive decisions including temporarily pausing aspects of our service. We know that passengers depend on us to get around, and we appreciate their patience as we work to get them where they are going safely and reliably.”

Highway trips are important Because they help reduce journey times and open up financially important routes, such as to and from airports. Waymo has framed highway driving as a critical capability as it seeks to scale its business and compete more aggressively with human-powered ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. Currently, Waymo express rides were only available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.

It’s the latest in a string of bad headlines for the robotaxi company, which despite its impressive progress in reducing traffic accidents and injuries, still suffers from frequent mishaps. Last week, one Atlanta neighborhood was inundated with empty Waymos trucks It caused a traffic jam on a dead end road. And a driver in Dallas caught Waymo Blazing through the red light At a busy intersection.

At this time, there is no information on when Waymo will return to highway driving, or resume service in Atlanta and San Antonio.

May 22 update: Updated to include a statement from Waymo spokesman Chris Pappas.