Waymo ends Uber robotaxi partnership in Phoenix after nearly three years
Waymo pulled its robotaxis off Uber’s Phoenix app after a nearly three-year pilot, returning the cars to its own fleet and tightening control over riders.
Waymo has ended its robotaxi partnership with Uber in Phoenix, removing its vehicles from Uber’s ride-hail app and closing a nearly three-year test that began as a high-profile bet on shared autonomy in the city. The pilot ended in May, and the cars Uber used have already been folded back into Waymo’s Phoenix fleet, where riders can still book them through the Waymo app.
Uber is preparing a separate autonomous vehicle partnership in Phoenix, but has not named the operator. Waymo kept direct access through its own app and continues to offer service in Phoenix with add-ons such as Via transit integration and DoorDash delivery.
The Phoenix deal launched publicly on October 26, 2023, after a May 23, 2023 announcement of a multi-year strategic partnership. At launch, Uber users could summon Waymo rides through UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric. The arrangement later expanded on April 3, 2024, to Uber Eats deliveries in Phoenix-area cities including Tempe, Mesa and Chandler. Uber used just over a dozen dedicated vehicles. Waymo had already made Phoenix its largest fully autonomous service area.
Waymo covered more than 225 square miles at the Uber launch and had already become a major operating base. In 2023, the company was providing more than 10,000 rides each week in Metro Phoenix, tens of thousands of people hailed the Waymo Driver every month, and more than a thousand weekly rides involved Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. By 2024, Waymo was providing more than 100,000 paid trips per week across its main markets.
Waymo and Uber were courtroom rivals before settling their trade-secret lawsuit in 2018. Waymo is rolling out a newer Zeekr-made van called Ojai, both firms are in markets such as London, and Waymo still offers rides on Uber in Austin and Atlanta.
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