Waymo Halts Robotaxi Service in Atlanta and San Antonio Due to Heavy Rain Flooding

On May 21, Waymo announced it was suspending its robotaxi operations in Atlanta and San Antonio due to stability issues experienced by its vehicles under heavy rain and flooded road conditions. The decision followed an incident in which an unoccupied Waymo autonomous vehicle became stranded in a severely flooded area in Atlanta and had to be towed away approximately one hour later; the vehicle has since been retrieved by the company. Waymo stated it will keep services suspended in both cities until it develops a reliable solution capable of accurately detecting and avoiding flooded areas. Last week, the company acknowledged it had not yet finalized the relevant technology and had already rolled out a temporary software update to its fleet, restricting vehicle operation during “times and on highway segments more prone to flooding.” However, this measure failed to fully prevent vehicles from entering flooded zones. Waymo noted that the recent storm in Atlanta struck suddenly, with some roads beginning to flood even before official flash flood warnings were issued. Currently, its fleet primarily relies on official weather alerts to determine whether to avoid deep-water areas.