Waymo pauses all freeway robotaxi rides

Waymo — Waymo suspended all freeway rides (San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, Miami) to improve construction-zone handling, after recalling 3,791 vehicles over flooded-roadway incidents — a notable safety pullback on its hardest driving domain. On 24 Sep 2026 Waymo began fully driverless freeway rides in Austin — its first in Texas, booked through Uber, on MoPac, I-35, US 183 and US 290. Reports did not say whether freeway service had resumed in the four markets paused in May.