Waymo has stopped driving on safe roads for safety reasons

On Thursday, Waymo customers opened the app and he realized something unusual: no more road works. Trips that normally take a few minutes on the freeway were expected to take much longer through local roads.

The company later confirmed that it had suspended highway operations in all of its US markets due to the impact of construction zones. It also suspended operations in Atlanta, Ga., and San Antonio, Tx., due to concerns related to flooded roads. The news comes after several of the company’s robotaxis were spotted driving down flooded roads at high speeds in Texas, forcing Waymo to leave. allocate program memory for all his ships.

The suspension comes as the company that owns Alphabet has ramped up its expansion into new markets with a goal of reaching 1 million weekly subscribers. (It currently does about 500,000 trips a week.) Waymo is also about to introduce a new vehicle, the Zeekr-built Ojai electric van, which will kick off the company’s sixth-generation electric van program.

The decision to stop driving on the road was made due to concerns about construction zones, a Waymo spokeswoman said he told ReutersI added that driving in your area is not affected. The spokesperson did not elaborate on how Waymo’s vehicles were having problems with construction zones. (I have submitted our comments and will update this section when I hear back.)

Road trips are important because it helps to reduce travel time and open up important financial options, such as going to and from the airport. Waymo has made highway driving a critical skill as it seeks to grow its business and compete more with ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Currently, Waymo’s rideshare services are only available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.

It’s the latest chapter in a series of bad news for the robotaxi company, which despite making remarkable progress in reducing road accidents and injuries, still faces a public health problem. Last week, an Atlanta neighborhood was flooded with empty Waymos has caused a traffic jam in the cul-de-sac. And a driver in Dallas caught Waymo burning through the red light at a busy intersection.

At this time, there is no word on when Waymo will return to driving, or resume operations in Atlanta and San Antonio.