Waymo Restarts San Antonio Robotaxi Service Five Months After Flood Stranded Its Vehicles
Waymo has resumed paid robotaxi rides in San Antonio, Texas, five months after a flash flood stranded its vehicles and led the company to issue a recall and change its software.
The restart follows heavy flooding in April, when multiple Waymo robotaxis became stuck. According to TechCrunch, the vehicles slowed but did not stop as they approached water-logged streets. Waymo issued a recall in May over the issue and restricted its robotaxis from driving in areas with an elevated risk of flooding.
Waymo briefly paused operations around the same time in other Texas cities, but has since resumed those services. The company is now offering paid rides in 15 U.S. cities.
The resumed service in San Antonio will involve dozens of vehicles covering a 60-mile area that includes downtown and the San Antonio International Airport, according to the San Antonio Express-News, which was first to report the restart. Waymo told the newspaper that it has made changes to its software that will help the robotaxis better detect and avoid standing water in the future.
The company did not say how long the San Antonio suspension lasted beyond the five months between the April flooding and the September restart, nor how many vehicles were affected in the original incident.