Austin council calls Waymo to April 29 meeting after robotaxi blocked West Sixth Street ambulance

Robotaxi incident during March 1 emergency response prompts City Hall review

Austin city leaders have invited Waymo representatives to appear at a joint meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and Mobility Committee on April 29, 2026, after video footage showed a self-driving vehicle briefly obstructing an ambulance during the emergency response to the March 1 mass shooting in the West Sixth Street entertainment district.

The incident occurred as first responders moved toward the active scene near Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden, where officials said three people died, including the gunman, and 14 others were injured. Austin officials have described the overall response as rapid, with officers and medics arriving in under a minute from the first call.

What the video shows and how the obstruction was resolved

The widely shared footage shows a Waymo vehicle stopped sideways across a narrow downtown street while an ambulance approaches with lights activated. After a police unit arrives behind the robotaxi, an officer is seen interacting with the vehicle and then moving it out of the travel lane, allowing emergency traffic to proceed.

Austin-Travis County EMS has said the vehicle briefly interfered with access for one ambulance and that the situation was resolved quickly under established protocol. EMS leadership has also stated that the delay did not affect the overall response or patient outcomes in this incident.

Waymo’s account and the operational context in Austin

Waymo has said the vehicle was en route to pick up a rider near the area and began executing a U-turn after identifying a road blockage. The company has indicated it intends to learn from the event and improve how its vehicles operate around emergency activity.

Austin is one of the cities where the service is integrated into the Uber app, allowing riders to be matched with a Waymo vehicle through Uber’s ride-hailing platform. That partnership has expanded autonomous vehicle exposure in high-density areas where roadway conditions can change quickly due to crashes, police activity, and large nightlife crowds.

What the council is seeking at the April 29 committee meeting

The invitation asks for an explanation of how the vehicle came to obstruct emergency movement and what steps can be implemented to strengthen coordination with public safety agencies. The upcoming session is expected to focus on operational safeguards rather than the broader criminal investigation into the shooting itself.

• Clarifying how Waymo vehicles detect and respond to sudden road closures and emergency perimeters
• Reviewing the on-scene process for police, fire, and EMS to communicate with and reposition autonomous vehicles
• Identifying coordination improvements between fleet operators and Austin public safety agencies in real time

The April 29 meeting is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. as a joint session of the Public Safety and Mobility committees.

The council’s action comes as autonomous vehicles expand in major U.S. markets, increasing the frequency of interactions between driverless systems and emergency operations. In Austin, the March 1 video has sharpened local attention on how quickly autonomous fleets can adapt when routine navigation conflicts with urgent public safety access.