Waymo Robotaxis Resume Freeway Rides After Software Update

Waymo is slowly adding freeway routes back to its service area more than two months after the company stopped driving these high-speed roads over how its robotaxis behaved near construction zones.

Waymo Gradually Resumes Freeway Operations

Waymo announced Wednesday in a post on X that it would gradually add freeway routes, starting with Phoenix — the company's first driverless ride-hailing market. More cities, including Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, would follow in the coming days, a Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch.

In an emailed statement, Waymo said it was "resuming freeway operations across its entire service area, including areas with construction, after implementing software updates designed to improve performance around freeway construction zones."

Those software updates improved performance around construction zones through enhanced scene recognition and routing, according to the company.

Increased Scrutiny on Robotaxi Operators

The freeway pause — and its restart — comes amid increased scrutiny into Waymo and other robotaxi operators, particularly over how these self-driving vehicles behave in certain high-traffic situations and around emergency responders. Earlier this week, Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.) proposed a bill that would direct federal regulators to establish minimum national safety standards for autonomous vehicle operators following a number of incidents in which autonomous vehicles blocked ambulances and fire trucks, drove into active crime scenes, and failed to recognize safety signals such as traffic cones and flares.

Waymo's Robotaxi Expansion

Waymo started offering robotaxi rides that used freeways across San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles in November 2025, a critical expansion for the company as it sought to attract riders with shorter commute times and faster access to airports. It would later add freeway routes in Miami.

The expansion proved to be popular, and when it suddenly disappeared in May, riders took to social media to ask why. At the time, Waymo told TechCrunch it wanted to improve the performance of its robotaxis in construction zones, noting that it was in the process of integrating “recent technical learnings into our software and expect to resume these routes soon.”

Recall and Restriction

Weeks later, Waymo voluntarily recalled its fleet of nearly 4,000 robotaxis after identifying at least 13 instances of its robotaxis driving into highway sections that were closed for construction, according to a filing submitted in June with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A Waymo spokesperson said there were no injuries or collisions reported in connection with these events. However, after reviewing the incidents, the company said it decided to temporarily restrict freeway operations.

This was Waymo's sixth recall of its robotaxis. Previous recalls included software fixes after its robotaxis drove into flooded roads and behaved illegally around school buses.

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Kirsten Korosec

Transportation Editor

October 13 – 15

San Francisco

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