Uber Executives Criticize Waymo Approach to Autonomous Vehicles

Uber executives have publicly criticized aspects of Waymo's fully autonomous vehicle operations in recent months. The comments portray AV-only models as less scalable, less equitable and less reliable than a hybrid approach that mixes human drivers and automated vehicles.

Waymo is Uber's only partner providing fully autonomous paid rides in the U.S. The two companies announced a multiyear partnership in 2023 that began in Phoenix and expanded to Austin and Atlanta the following year. In those latter cities, the agreement makes Uber the sole app for hailing a Waymo robotaxi.

Since then, Waymo has expanded its service without an Uber partnership in five additional cities. In San Francisco, for example, AV operations have expanded into some of the wealthiest neighborhoods while remaining absent from nearby cities like Oakland.

Waymo is the only AV operator to have scaled commercial operations across multiple cities in the Bay Area but has yet to deploy in East Bay Area cities like Oakland or Berkeley.

April 17, at a panel hosted by the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, Uber's head of local California policy addressed equity issues in AV deployment. The executive noted that Waymo is permitted to operate in Oakland, a dense city with a population similar to San Francisco that would be receptive to autonomous vehicles.

The executive asked why the service had not expanded to Oakland or Santa Monica. Uber does not name Waymo in a related policy paper that raises similar equity concerns about AV operations focusing on wealthier areas.

An Uber spokesperson said the company's position was not aimed at any specific company. "We will make no apologies for advocating for a hybrid future, which is both provably more efficient at matching supply across the peaks and valleys of rideshare demand, and of course represents a better future for drivers than merely advocating for their replacement," the spokesperson said.

Uber continues to support autonomy but has backed measures that could slow AV rollouts in major cities. The company has described New York City as the largest ridesharing market in the world, making up 10 percent of its U.S. trips. Waymo paused its testing operations in New York City after its permit expired in March.

In February, the governor withdrew a proposal to change the state's vehicle laws to effectively legalize robotaxi operations outside New York City. An Uber spokesperson cited the AV industry's failure to advance new regulation as one of the reasons the company needs to reexamine its deployment strategy.

"Today we partner with cities instead of confronting them," Uber's chief operating officer wrote in a LinkedIn post. A New York Times report linked the withdrawal to efforts to secure support for auto insurance reforms from labor unions that oppose driverless cars.

A December report quoted the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance calling for a moratorium and a study on AV testing and deployment in the city. Uber's senior director of public policy and communications was quoted as saying the moratorium proposal had a lot of merit and that officials need to be thoughtful about a transition.

Uber's policy paper also highlighted how AV systems continue to struggle with edge cases as they scale. On Monday, Waymo announced a software recall for 3,800 robotaxis after an incident in San Antonio in which a Waymo robotaxi drove into a flooded roadway.

On April 29, Uber's chief technology officer posted a video on X that appeared to show a Waymo vehicle overtaking a Muni bus in the wrong lane at a signal in San Francisco. The executive wrote that had the bus driver and he not steered away, the event could have been a serious incident.

The post described the event as a scary moment while noting support for AVs but stating that perception does not equal judgment. An Uber spokesperson said the post speaks for itself.