Waymo expands Bay Area, draws complaints

Waymo widened its Bay Area robotaxi footprint this week while facing a separate backlash in Atlanta over how its vehicles moved through residential streets. KRON4 reported on May 14 that the company was extending service into Cupertino, Campbell and the Willow Glen and Vista Park neighborhoods of San Jose, citing Waymo. The expansion adds about 60 square miles and brings the company’s Bay Area service area to more than 300 square miles, according to KRON4 and San Jose Spotlight. ### Which Bay Area neighborhoods are being added now? Cupertino, Campbell, Willow Glen and Vista Park are the newly named areas in Waymo’s latest Bay Area buildout, according to local reports citing the company. KRON4 said the new territory increases Waymo’s total service area to more than 300 square miles, while San Jose Spotlight reported the figure as more than 330 square miles. California regulators had already approved Waymo’s request to expand its Phase I driverless passenger service into additional Bay Area territory, including San Jose, according to a California Public Utilities Commission disposition letter. (kron4.com) May 19, 2025, was the date California regulators approved an amendment to Waymo’s permit for expanded driverless passenger service in San Jose and other Bay Area areas, according to CNBC’s report on the CPUC action and the CPUC disposition letter itself. The current neighborhood rollout appears to be a commercial expansion inside that approved territory rather than a new state authorization. That is an inference based on the timing of the 2025 approval and the 2026 service-area reports. (kron4.com) ### What exactly happened in Atlanta? Atlanta residents posted videos this week showing empty Waymo SUVs entering a quiet Buckhead street, turning around in a cul-de-sac and driving back out. Fox 5 Atlanta reported on May 16 that footage captured more than a dozen Waymo vehicles repeating the maneuver on a dead-end street. ABC News, citing local station WSB-TV and Storyful footage, said residents described the pattern as affecting multiple cul-de-sacs in the neighborhood. (cpuc.ca.gov) Battleview Drive was the street named in reports from ABC News and other outlets covering the complaints. Residents told WSB-TV that the vehicles were appearing in the early morning and moving through residential streets without passengers. USA Today reported that the reason was not immediately clear when the videos surfaced. (fox5atlanta.com) ### What did Waymo say caused the circling? Waymo said the Atlanta behavior was tied to routing. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that the company apologized to neighbors and said it had already adjusted routing software with its fleet partner to correct the behavior. In a statement carried by multiple outlets, a Waymo spokesperson said the company had “worked with our fleet partner to address this routing behavior” and was trying to prevent similar disruptions. (usatoday.com) Uber is the named partner for Waymo’s Atlanta service. Waymo said in a September 2024 blog post that its expanded partnership with Uber would bring the Waymo One experience to Atlanta and Austin through the Uber app beginning in early 2025. Waymo’s current Atlanta service page says the fleet serves a limited territory and prioritizes ride requests near an available vehicle. (fox5atlanta.com) ### Why do these two episodes belong in the same conversation? May 2026 has brought both network growth and operational scrutiny for Waymo. The Bay Area expansion shows the company pushing farther into suburban and neighborhood service, while the Atlanta episode shows how empty vehicles repositioning between rides can draw attention when routing sends them repeatedly through the same blocks. That framing is supported by the company’s own statement that it changed routing behavior after complaints. (waymo.com) Waymo has also been making other software changes this month. CNBC reported on May 12 that the company issued a voluntary recall covering about 3,800 robotaxis to address a problem that could allow vehicles to drive into standing water. The Atlanta routing fix was described separately from that recall, but both underscore how much of the service depends on software updates after vehicles are already on the road. (kron4.com) ### What should riders and residents watch next? In the coming weeks, Waymo riders in the South Bay should see whether Cupertino, Campbell and the added San Jose neighborhoods appear as bookable destinations in the app and on Waymo’s service maps. In Atlanta, residents will be watching whether the routing change ends the repeated cul-de-sac turnarounds that prompted the latest complaints, while Waymo and Uber continue operating their service in the city’s limited territory. (cnbc.com) (nbcbayarea.com)