Feds ask Waymo about robotaxis repeatedly passing school buses in Austin

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked Waymo for more information about its self-driving system and operations following reports from the Austin School District that its robotaxis illegally passed school buses 19 times this year.

In a December 3 letter sent to Waymo, regulators requested detailed information about its fifth-generation self-driving system and operations. Reuters was the first to report on the letter, which comes two months since the agency opened an investigation into Waymo over how its robotaxis perform around stopped school buses.

The agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened its initial investigation into the Alphabet-owned company in October after seeing footage of a Waymo autonomous vehicle maneuvering around a stopped school bus — with its stop sign extended and lights flashing — that was unloading kids in Atlanta. In that incident, a Waymo robotaxi crossed perpendicularly in front of the school bus from its right side. The autonomous vehicle then turned left around the front of the bus before traveling down the street.

Waymo has said the bus was partially blocking the driveway and that the robotaxi could not see the flashing lights or stop sign.

Waymo also said it issued a software update to its fleet to improve performance.

Reports of Waymo robotaxis illegally passing school buses has continued even after the fix. The Austin School District has reported 19 different instances of Waymo automated vehicles illegally passing school buses since the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. The school district noted in a letter to Waymo that at least five of these occurred after Waymo said it updated its software on November 17.

In an emailed statement, Waymo said safety is its top priority. The company also said data shows its robotaxis are improving road safety, noting a fivefold reduction in injury-related crashes compared to human drivers, and 12x fewer injury crashes involving pedestrians.

“We have already made software updates to improve our performance and are committed to continuous improvement,” the statement continued. “NHTSA plays a vital role in road safety, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the agency as part of our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver.”

Waymo contends that the software updates have meaningfully improved performance to a level better than human drivers in this area.

Austin School District seems to disagree and has asked Waymo to cease operations during certain times of the day when students are arriving and departing school.

“Waymo’s software updates are clearly not working as intended nor as quickly as required,” the district’s November 20 letter to Waymo reads. “We cannot allow Waymo to continue endangering our students while it attempts to implement a fix. Accordingly, Austin ISD demands that Waymo immediately cease operation of its automated vehicles during the hours of 5:20 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., until more in-depth software updates are completed and Waymo can guarantee its vehicles will comply with the law.”

Federal regulators with the Office of Defects Investigation sent Waymo a letter four days later noting that it had been alerted by Austin school district officials. The investigators asked if Waymo had ceased operations, per the school district’s request, if its software fix mitigated this concern, and if Waymo planned to file a recall?