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U.S. Safety Regulators Probe Waymo Robotaxis Over School Bus Incident

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U.S. auto safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, after reports that one of its robotaxis failed to stop properly for a school bus in Georgia. The probe, launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), covers about 2,000 vehicles equipped with Waymo’s fifth-generation Automated Driving System.

The investigation follows a media report showing a Waymo vehicle maneuvering around a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended while children were disembarking — a clear violation of school bus safety protocols. NHTSA said the vehicle initially stopped before moving around the bus, suggesting a potential software or perception failure.

Regulators noted that given Waymo’s extensive operations — the company’s autonomous cars have logged over 100 million miles and currently drive 2 million miles per week — similar incidents could have occurred previously. The agency emphasized the need to evaluate how Waymo’s technology responds to critical real-world safety cues, particularly around children and pedestrians.

Waymo acknowledged the event, saying it has already implemented software improvements to enhance behavior around school buses and will issue further updates soon. “Driving safely around children has always been one of our highest priorities,” a company spokesperson said, explaining that the vehicle’s sensors may not have initially detected the flashing signals due to its angle of approach.

The company operates a fleet of over 1,500 driverless vehicles in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. The new probe comes months after NHTSA closed another 14-month investigation into Waymo’s earlier collisions with stationary objects, which led to two vehicle recalls.

Waymo to launch driverless ride-hailing service in London in 2026

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Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Waymo, announced plans to launch its fully driverless ride-hailing service in London next year, marking its first major expansion into Europe. The company, which has been gradually scaling operations in the United States, aims to bring its robotaxi technology to one of the world’s most densely regulated urban environments.

Waymo said it will partner with vehicle financing firm Moove to manage fleet operations, facilities, and charging infrastructure in London. The company is also working closely with local and national authorities to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals ahead of the launch. According to a spokesperson, vehicles are already en route to London, where they will initially be tested with safety drivers before transitioning to full autonomy in 2026.

In the U.S., Waymo currently provides over 250,000 paid trips weekly across cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Austin, with a fleet of roughly 1,500 vehicles. The company has also been expanding internationally, collecting data in Tokyo earlier this year in collaboration with Japanese partners Nihon Kotsu and Go.

The move comes amid intensifying competition in the autonomous transport sector, as Tesla prepares to debut its long-promised robotaxi service and Uber plans to trial fully driverless rides in the UK in partnership with AI startup Wayve. Despite regulatory challenges and technical setbacks in the U.S., Waymo’s London project signals renewed momentum for commercializing self-driving technology.

UK moves to curb Google’s search dominance under new Big Tech powers

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Britain’s competition regulator has designated Google as having strategic market status in online search — a landmark ruling that gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sweeping new powers to reshape how the tech giant operates in the UK.

The CMA said Google controls over 90% of all UK search traffic, cementing a dominant position in both search and search advertising. The designation, announced Friday, does not imply wrongdoing but allows the regulator to intervene directly to ensure fairer competition and impose fines for non-compliance.

The CMA outlined potential changes earlier this year, including fairer ranking systems, easier switching to alternative search engines, and greater publisher control over how their content is used in AI-generated responses. These measures could particularly affect Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode features, though its Gemini AI assistant remains outside the current scope.

Google’s Senior Director for Competition, Oliver Bethell, argued the proposals “would inhibit UK innovation and growth” at a time of “profound AI-based innovation.” The company recently announced a £5 billion investment in Britain.

The ruling marks the CMA’s first use of its expanded Big Tech authority, introduced to address the dominance of firms like Google, Apple, and Amazon. The regulator’s second probe—into mobile operating systems—could also lead to another designation targeting Android.

The move follows mounting global scrutiny: the EU fined Google $3.45 billion for antitrust violations in ad tech last month, while U.S. regulators are pressing to break up parts of its advertising empire.

Competition lawyer Tom Smith, a former CMA director, said the decision could rebalance the market by “giving website operators more control over how their content is used for AI training,” curbing Google’s advantage in artificial intelligence.