A Waymo autonomous vehicle travels on the East Side of San Antonio. The company is delaying plans to expand access to its ride hailing services after storms led to flooded streets and highways in San Antonio.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Waymo has delayed an expected expansion of its driverless ride-hailing services in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas after violent thunderstorms caused flooding on streets and highways overnight in San Antonio.
The company’s San Antonio service was suspended after an unoccupied Waymo vehicle was swept off a flooded roadway.
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The Google spinoff, which began limited service in the three cities in February, was expected soon to open access to anyone who has the Waymo app. Currently, only those who have received access codes are able to hail rides.
RELATED: Waymo pauses service after robotaxi swept away in San Antonio flood
The California-based company is aiming to continue growing its Texas business, which is already well ahead of Austin-based Tesla Inc. The Austin-based company operates small fleets of Robotaxi-branded vehicles in fewer cities and still has human safety monitors or drivers on board.
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Waymo’s fully driverless Texas operations began in March 2025 in Austin. Customers in that market use the Uber app to hail rides.
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With Austin, the four cities Waymo serves in Texas have a combined service area of 250 square miles.
Dozens of Waymo’s white Jaguar I-Paces cover a 60-square-mile service area in San Antonio that is roughly bounded by Interstate 10 on the south and west and Loop 410 to the north and east.
Last month, San Antonio International Airport became the first in the state to get the service. Other cities’ airports are expected to follow. Waymo has said it’s testing at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Dallas Love Field.
READ MORE: San Antonio airport first in Texas to get Waymo robotaxi service
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The price per ride varies depending on demand and conditions but it’s comparable with other ride-shares or taxis, the company has said.
Waymo cars were first spotted around San Antonio last May, when it began mapping the city with cars operated by human drivers. It began letting its vehicles drive themselves around town in November.
The cars are outfitted with lidar, radar and 29 cameras, along with global positioning and software powered by artificial intelligence, for guidance. They can call a human operator for help if needed.
The company said that over 170 million rider-only miles, its Waymo Driver system “continues to make roads safer, being involved with 92% fewer crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries than human drivers and 83% fewer crashes where airbags deployed.”
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RELATED: Waymo launches driverless robotaxi service in San Antonio, 3 other cities
As with any vehicle, weather can cause difficulties. During heavy rain Monday night in San Antonio, an unoccupied Waymo drove into a floodway road and was swept away, the company said Tuesday.
“As a result of the flooding in San Antonio, we temporarily paused our local operations and are continuing to monitor road conditions,” it said in a statement. “Safety is our highest priority at Waymo, both for people who choose to ride with us and those with whom we share the streets.”
Earlier this month, a Waymo with a human driver hit a pedestrian, causing non-life-threatening injuries. There also have been complaints about the vehicles driving the wrong way in a school zone, stalling in traffic and loitering in neighborhoods while between jobs.
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In Austin, a Waymo car was caught on camera blocking EMS vehicles responding to the March 1 mass shooting on West Sixth Street. Authorities said the robotaxi did not hinder the response to the shooting, which killed four and injured more than a dozen.
The company is under scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after Waymos drove past stopped school buses in Austin and struck a child near a school in California. Waymo voluntarily reported that accident, which the child walked away from.
READ MORE: Human driver in Waymo robotaxi hits pedestrian on Northeast Side, San Antonio police say
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Waymo, the industry leader, now has service in 11 cities across the U.S. It’s preparing to launch in 20 more this year, as well as in Tokyo.