Waymo resumes robotaxi service in San Antonio after flood recall

Waymo has restarted its robotaxi service in San Antonio, Texas, five months after one of its vehicles was swept away during a flash flood. The service had been paused since heavy flooding hit the city in April, when multiple Waymo robotaxis got stuck as they encountered waterlogged streets — the vehicles slowed down but did not stop in time to avoid the rising water. Waymo issued a formal recall in May in response and restricted its robotaxis from driving through areas identified as having an elevated risk of flooding.

The company briefly paused operations around the same time in other Texas cities affected by the flooding, but it has since resumed service in those markets as well. Waymo is now offering paid robotaxi rides in a total of 15 US cities, part of its broader push to expand commercial autonomous-vehicle service across the country.

The resumed San Antonio service covers a 60-mile area that includes downtown San Antonio and San Antonio International Airport, and will involve dozens of vehicles, according to the San Antonio Express-News, which was first to report on the restart. Waymo told the paper that it has made changes to its software specifically aimed at helping its robotaxis better detect and avoid standing water going forward, addressing the failure mode that led to the April incident and the subsequent recall.

Why it matters

The restart is a test of whether Waymo’s software fix genuinely resolves the flood risk that grounded its fleet, at a moment when the company is racing to expand commercial robotaxi service across more US cities.