Waymo has begun offering driverless rides on Austin-area freeways, resuming highway-speed autonomous service months after pulling the capability from multiple cities2.
Some riders who booked trips through the Uber app are now seeing routes that include highway driving, and Waymo says it will roll out the service gradually. A spokesperson said the expansion is meant to help riders reach destinations faster and more efficiently on freeways.
The Austin highway launch follows a broader retreat. Waymo suspended freeway service in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami in May amid concerns about robotaxi performance in construction zones. The company had previously tested highway rides for employees in Austin in February. Austin now joins Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami on Waymo's list of cities where its vehicles travel on highways.
ANALYSIS The timeline — employee testing in February, a system-wide highway suspension in May, and a public relaunch now — suggests Waymo used the intervening months to address the construction-zone issues that prompted the pullback.
The expansion arrives against a backdrop of safety incidents in Texas. Waymo reported five crashes in Austin during the four weeks ending August 17, and seven crashes in Dallas during the same period. The Dallas figure includes Texas' first fatality involving a robotaxi.
Waymo has also faced scrutiny in Austin after one of its vehicles struck and killed a pet cat in Central Austin and drove away. Separately, Waymo's ride-hailing service has been paused in San Antonio since April after floodwaters swept one of its vehicles off a roadway during heavy rains.
ANALYSIS Reintroducing highway speeds in Austin while crash reports and a fatality in Dallas remain recent puts operational confidence and regulatory tolerance under direct test.