Waymo cars circle Atlanta cul‑de‑sac

Waymo said it had already addressed a routing problem after residents in northwest Atlanta reported empty robotaxis repeatedly entering and circling cul-de-sacs on Battleview Drive in recent weeks. WSB-TV first reported the complaints on May 15, citing neighbors who said the vehicles were not picking up passengers and often appeared early in the morning. Tesla, in a separate development on May 13, won permission to test its supervised self-driving software on one car in Belgium’s Flanders region, according to Reuters. Together, the two episodes show how autonomous driving efforts are advancing through local operations, routing decisions and regulatory approvals rather than through product launches alone. (wsbtv.com) ### How many Waymo vehicles did Atlanta residents say they saw? One Battleview Drive resident told WSB-TV that about 50 Waymo cars came through the street between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. on one morning. Residents said they had seen Waymo vehicles in the area for about two months, but that the larger waves of cars circling in and out had intensified over the prior couple of weeks. ABC News, citing WSB-TV and Storyful footage, reported that residents described the vehicles as empty and said they were crowding residential streets. (wsbtv.com) One resident said the problem affected “almost every little cul-de-sac” in the area. ### What did neighbors say made the situation alarming? Residents told WSB-TV that the concern was not only the number of cars but the setting: a dead-end residential street where children wait for school buses and families keep pets. (wsbtv.com) One neighbor said the traffic “just doesn’t feel safe” and said there was no reason for empty vehicles to be on small residential cul-de-sacs if they were not picking up anyone. A makeshift street sign also appeared to expose how the vehicles reacted to obstacles. (abcnews.com) WSB-TV reported that when one resident placed a children-at-play sign in the street, eight Waymo vehicles were at one point left trying to figure out how to turn around. ### What explanation did Waymo give? Waymo told local outlets that it had “already addressed this routing behavior” and said it was committed to being “good neighbors.” In statements carried by ABC News, WSB-TV and 11Alive, the company said it takes community feedback seriously and had worked with its fleet partner to fix the issue. (wsbtv.com) FOX 5 Atlanta reported that Waymo said its fleet stages in heavily traveled areas so vehicles can respond quickly to demand, and that the company described the Atlanta issue as tied to “fleet positioning.” Waymo also said it completes more than 500,000 weekly trips across the country. (wsbtv.com) ### Where does Waymo operate in Atlanta? Waymo says riders in Atlanta can be matched with its fully autonomous vehicles through the Uber app. The company announced in September 2024 that it would bring the Waymo One service to Atlanta and Austin through an expanded Uber partnership beginning in early 2025, and its current rider information says Waymo service is available in Atlanta on Uber. (abcnews.com) Waymo’s public FAQ says Atlanta is one of the cities where anyone can ride with Waymo today, though the fleet serves a limited territory and matching depends on vehicle availability nearby. (fox5atlanta.com) ### What exactly did Belgium approve for Tesla? Reuters reported on May 13 that Tesla was authorized to test its supervised self-driving software on one car in Flanders as part of a general authorization process. A spokesperson for Flemish mobility minister Annick De Ridder said the company could begin once it had a license plate and insurance. (waymo.com) Annick De Ridder said in a post cited by Reuters that the vehicle would be tested over about 5,000 kilometers to evaluate differences between Dutch and Belgian road infrastructure and traffic rules. (waymo.com) Reuters reported that an authorization by Flanders would be valid across Belgium and followed provisional approval in the Netherlands last month. ### What happens next in both cases? Waymo said the Atlanta routing behavior had already been addressed, and residents had also contacted city officials and the Georgia Department of Transportation, according to WSB-TV. (finance.yahoo.com) Tesla’s next step in Belgium is narrower and more formal: one supervised test vehicle, a license plate, insurance and roughly 5,000 kilometers of road testing under the Flanders authorization process. (wsbtv.com)