A driverless Waymo vehicle drives down the street.
A Waymo vehicle drives down the street. Credit: Shutterstock

More than four months after one of its self-driving vehicles was swept away by floodwaters, ride-hailing company Waymo on Thursday said its vehicles are again carrying passengers on San Antonio’s streets.

In April, Waymo put its Alamo City rollout on pause after one of its autonomous cars was carried off during a storm that dumped more than 6 inches of rainfall on the city in 24 hours.

Although no passengers were in the vehicle at the time, the company took its cars off San Antonio streets to reevaluate the tech and explore how to make them safer for local passengers.

Following an audit of San Antonio flood zones and multiple software improvements and adjustments to the cars’ alert systems, Waymo this week confirmed that the self-driving cars are ready for San Antonio passengers. The cars have been on local roads for weeks — just not picking up riders.

“Safety is our highest priority, and that unwavering commitment guided every step of the way during this pause,” Chen said in a statement. “We took the time to implement key software updates and operational improvements around floodwaters, and have thoroughly validated our technology on local roads. We look forward to earning the trust of San Antonians as they experience the magic of Waymo rides once again.”

Even so, Waymo’s service still isn’t available to everyone. Unlike in Austin, where riders can order a riderless vehicle via the Uber app, San Antonio residents still must join a waitlist via the self-driving car company’s app.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...