Although ‘deadheading’ time has gone down, Waymos still spend much of their time creating traffic without passengers.
Data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) reveals that Waymo vehicles spend close to half of their driving time without passengers, writes Harry Campbell in The Driverless Digest.
Although the phenomenon known as ‘deadheading’ has decreased from 51.5 percent in January 2024 to 44.3 percent in September 2025, the autonomous vehicles still spend a significant amount of time creating traffic without being in service.
According to Campbell, “Waymo may be forced to reposition more after drop-offs — or simply keep moving because there aren’t many legal places to wait. At a high level, the data suggests their fleet spends a lot of time driving around between trips while waiting for a request, rather than staying put, which is why P1 miles remain so high.”
Read the full story: What CPUC Data Reveals About Waymo’s Deadheading and Utilization
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