{
  "id": 18241938,
  "title": "Uber says it alone can make robotaxis pay, hours after Waymo quit its app",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/uber-says-it-alone-can-make-robotaxis-pay-hours-after-waymo-quit-its",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-11-05T01:45:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Science",
    "slug": "the-register-science",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/personal-tech/2026/11/05/uber-says-it-alone-can-make-robotaxis-pay-hours-after-waymo-quit-its-app/5307718"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Google's Waymo autonomous cab company announced they will stop allowing Uber users to book its robo-cabs. This move occurred just hours after Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi advocated for Uber to be the platform of choice for all autonomous vehicle fleet operators. Waymo's Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana stated that their partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta was not meeting user expectations, as requests for rides in Waymo's robo-cabs were not guaranteed. In contrast, Uber highlighted its higher efficiency in delivering trips per vehicle and shared infrastructure costs as reasons for its appeal as a host platform for third-party players. The CEO also announced plans to deploy 2,000 robo-cabs by 2027 and a larger commercial ramp in 2028. Uber's financial performance saw a 20 percent increase in bookings in the previous quarter, with $59.8 billion in bookings worth $7.5 billion in revenue. However, a recent Australian High Court decision required Uber to pay AU$81 million in payroll taxes due to treating gig workers as employees, potentially creating further legal issues for the company in other jurisdictions.",
  "summary": "Oh, the irony, as platform players fight",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "Waymo plans to end its exclusive robotaxi partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028 and switch to its own app to improve consistency for users (Bloomberg)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/waymo-plans-to-end-its-exclusive-robotaxi-partnership-with-uber-in",
        "published": "2026-11-04T13:25:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TechCrunch",
        "title": "Waymo confirms it will split with Uber in January 2028",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/waymo-confirms-it-will-split-with-uber-in-january-2028",
        "published": "2026-11-04T18:12:30.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}