Waymo robotaxis are no longer available through Uber in Phoenix, ending the companies’ nearly three-year deployment in the city. The vehicles assigned to the program have returned to Waymo’s Phoenix fleet and remain available through the Waymo app.
The partnership ended in May 2026 because the deployment had reached its contracted end date, according to the companies. Uber is preparing to introduce another autonomous vehicle partner in Phoenix but has not identified the company involved.
Phoenix was the first market where riders could request a trip through Uber and potentially be matched with a fully autonomous Waymo vehicle. The companies launched the service in October 2023, following an agreement that also covered autonomous deliveries.
Vehicles Return to Waymo’s Phoenix Fleet
Waymo described the Phoenix program as a pilot involving hundreds of thousands of trips. It said the vehicles previously assigned to Uber have been incorporated into its own fleet, where they will continue serving passengers and supporting partnerships with Via and DoorDash.
Uber said the Phoenix deployment was intentionally limited to slightly more than a dozen vehicles. The company said lessons from the project helped it expand its work with Waymo in Austin and Atlanta, where hundreds of autonomous vehicles are available exclusively through Uber.
The two companies announced the Austin and Atlanta expansion in September 2024. Those deployments remain active despite the end of their Phoenix arrangement.
Waymo’s direct Phoenix robotaxi service also remains available. Phoenix had been the only market where Waymo offered rides through both its own app and Uber.
Robotaxi Operations Continue to Expand
The partnership began when commercial robotaxi services were operating at a smaller scale and Waymo was still emerging from an earlier legal dispute with Uber. The companies settled a trade secrets lawsuit in 2018 before beginning their Phoenix collaboration five years later.
Since then, Waymo has expanded its fleet to around 4,000 vehicles and now provides more than 500,000 paid trips each week across 11 major U.S. metropolitan areas, according to TechCrunch. It is also preparing to enter around 20 additional cities during 2026.
Uber has signed agreements with dozens of autonomous vehicle developers as it works to add more driverless rides to its platform. Its next Phoenix partner and the timing of that service have not been disclosed.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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