Partnering with Waze to help cities patch their potholes

Today, Waymo and Waze are announcing a new pilot to provide cities with sharper tools to combat a common enemy of cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike: potholes.

The pilot program uses Waymo’s perception and physical feedback systems to detect and provide up-to-date information on potholes where Waymo operates. The data will be available to cities and state Departments of Transportation through the free-to-use Waze for Cities platform alongside user-reported pothole information, giving officials an additional view of surface street and highway conditions that enables them to more efficiently and effectively fill potholes. The data will also be visible to Waze users in the cities where Waymo operates, keeping road users safe by alerting them as they approach a pothole. Like other on-road features reportable in the Waze app, users will be able to verify the Waymo-identified potholes, increasing the data’s accuracy.

“Waymo is already making roads safer where we operate. We want to build on the safety benefits of our service by partnering with organizations and city officials to help improve the infrastructure we all depend on,” said Arielle Fleisher, Policy Development and Research Manager at Waymo. “Waymo’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted driver; we’re also committed to becoming a trusted partner to the cities we serve.”

Potholes can cause significant vehicle damage and contribute to crashes. Today, many cities rely on non-emergency 311 reports from residents and manual inspections to address their pothole problems. This constituent-driven model of road maintenance provides cities with an incomplete picture of road health that can make it difficult to allocate maintenance resources equitably. This pilot program, based on feedback gathered from city officials over the years, is intended to help fill reporting gaps and support cities’ efforts to maintain safer streets.

“We’re always looking for innovative ways to deliver better services for residents, including our own work using object detection through cameras on City vehicles,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. “As Waymo’s autonomous fleet travels across San Jose, we appreciate the collaboration with Waymo and Waze as we explore how technology can help identify issues like potholes faster so we can respond more efficiently.”

“Waymo is showing the good neighbor principle in action: sharing data that helps cities fix problems faster and make streets safer for everyone,” said Sarah Kaufman, Director of the New York University Rudin Center for Transportation. “It’s a simple step, but it reflects a broader principle of responsibility, that companies operating on public streets can help improve them.”

We’ll launch this pilot in our first five cities – the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta metro areas – where Waymo has already identified approximately 500 potholes. Over time, we’ll expand this partnership to more cities we serve, including those with winter weather and harsh freeze-thaw cycles that exacerbate the pothole problem.

“For years, drivers on Waze have helped each other by reporting potholes for a smoother, safer ride,” said Andrew Stober, Strategic Partner Manager, Waze. “This pilot program with Waymo adds another source of data to that effort, giving cities a clearer picture of road conditions through our Waze for Cities platform. It's a great example of how working together helps our community and makes our roads better for everyone."

Together, Waymo and Waze can help improve road quality in communities where Waymo operates. We’ll seek feedback from cities using this data on how we can further improve this pilot program, and explore bringing more actionable data to the cities we serve. If you’re interested in following Waymo’s journey or want to advocate for Waymo coming to your community, sign up at https://waymo.com/updates/.