[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-waymo-robotaxis-idle-for-nearly-half-their-miles-study-finds":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},271,"waymo-robotaxis-idle-for-nearly-half-their-miles-study-finds","Waymo Robotaxis Run Empty for Nearly Half Their Miles","A study finds self-driving cars produce as much deadhead driving as ride-hailing, undermining a core efficiency argument for the AV industry.","A new study finds Waymo's robotaxis are empty for nearly half the miles they drive — the same deadhead rate as traditional ride-hailing services.\n\nResearch tracking the fleet concludes that, on this measure, autonomous vehicles offer no structural improvement over human-driven services. The vehicles log empty miles between pickups at roughly the same rate as Uber and Lyft drivers. That pattern — vehicles repositioning or circling without passengers — is the same inefficiency that ride-hailing critics flagged when those platforms expanded into cities a decade ago. The study finds no evidence that smarter routing closes the gap.\n\nTraffic reduction has been a recurring justification for giving AV companies operating room in dense urban areas. If that argument doesn't hold up empirically, the calculus shifts for regulators — particularly in places like San Francisco, where autonomous vehicles have already drawn complaints about blocked bike lanes and delayed emergency responses.\n\nThe ride-hailing industry made nearly identical promises in the early 2010s: optimized routing, pooled rides, fewer cars on the road. Research eventually showed the opposite. The AV industry, so far, is tracking the same arc.","[\"autonomous-vehicles\",\"waymo\",\"transportation\",\"ride-hailing\"]","2026-06-03T15:13:03.000Z","2026-06-04T21:23:32.556Z","2026-06-18T04:10:34.135Z","published",null,[],"consumer-tech",[26,27,28,29],"autonomous-vehicles","waymo","transportation","ride-hailing",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"Ars Technica","https:\u002F\u002Farstechnica.com\u002Fcars\u002F2026\u002F06\u002Frobotaxis-dont-cut-traffic-any-more-than-ride-hailing-study-finds\u002F",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,47,52,57,62,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",2602,"2026-07-18T18:30:00.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":44,"count":45,"latest_published_at":46},"Security","security",315,"2026-07-17T19:30:00.000Z",{"name":48,"slug":49,"count":50,"latest_published_at":51},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":53,"slug":54,"count":55,"latest_published_at":56},"Policy","policy",169,"2026-07-17T19:49:53.000Z",{"name":58,"slug":59,"count":60,"latest_published_at":61},"Hardware","hardware",126,"2026-07-16T20:09:48.000Z",{"name":63,"slug":24,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Consumer Tech",94,"2026-07-16T16:29:46.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Software","software",72,"2026-07-17T09:42:05.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Science","science",66,"2026-07-10T10:29:37.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",60,"2026-07-16T16:59:13.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",42,"2026-07-16T16:30:35.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"General","general",29,"2026-07-10T22:28:58.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]