Waymo Wants the Rider Back

The confirmation came from Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, who told Bloomberg News that the robotaxi company will split with Uber in those two markets and offer rides directly through Waymo’s smartphone app, according to TechCrunch. The Uber arrangement had been set to expire in May 2028.

Mawakana’s explanation is unusually plain. She said Waymo partnered with Uber because Uber offered scale, but that the rider experience had been “a little bit of a crapshoot,” especially because people requesting rides did not know whether they would get a robotaxi or a human-driven car.

“It’s important for us to have that relationship with the rider,” Mawakana said, adding that Waymo had received that feedback from riders in Austin and Atlanta.

That makes this less mysterious than some partnership breakups tend to be. Waymo is not hiding behind vague language about strategic alignment. It is saying the handoff through Uber created a muddled experience for customers, and that it wants a direct relationship instead.

Uber told Bloomberg that it was Waymo’s idea not to add an option in Uber’s app to book a robotaxi directly. That does not settle every argument about who made what harder, but it does narrow the point at issue. The split, on the sourcing available here, is tied to how riders booked and experienced the service.

There is also a small but telling detail in the timing disclosed by TechCrunch: Waymo says it will leave in January 2028 even though the deal was due to expire in May 2028. The cleaner reading is simply that Waymo has decided it does not want to wait out the remaining months of an arrangement it no longer likes.

Mawakana’s “crapshoot” line is the part that lingers, because it cuts against the polished inevitability that often surrounds robotaxi coverage. In Austin and Atlanta, at least, Waymo is saying the question of who owns the app — and the rider’s expectation when they tap for a car — still matters enough to end the partnership early.