Because she’s legally blind and doesn’t drive, Lee Rogers has always used rideshare to navigate the city. A Candler Park resident, Rogers has been enjoying a new experience: being alone in the car, ferried to her destination by a driverless Waymo. The autonomous vehicles, which have been available through the Uber app since June 2025, cover about 65 square miles of intown Atlanta. Rogers has come to prefer Waymo to traditional rideshare options, citing benefits such as safety, cleaner cars, no small talk with a driver, and no tipping. She appreciates the solo ride—a first for her.

“I think a lot of people who drive are afraid of self-driving cars because they don’t have control,” Rogers says. “But I’ve never had control because I’m blind.”

Atlanta is among the first cities in the country to offer Waymo, along with San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Phoenix. Though the software company has its own app in certain markets, it’s been using Uber as a platform to introduce Atlantans to Waymo; an option in the app’s settings allows users to opt for the autonomous ride. Waymo’s Atlanta fleet consists of about 100 vehicles, and the company plans to add more over the next few years.

Courtesy Of Waymo and Uber

“Waymo chose Atlanta almost two years ago because of the rideshare demand,” says Ethan Teicher, a spokesperson for Waymo. Teicher says Miami is the company’s next target market, with launches in other major cities soon to follow.

Midtown resident Cator Sparks chose the Waymo option on Uber out of sheer curiosity. He’d been seeing the cars around town and was happy to discover they were clean and quiet. “I thought the Waymo was easy to operate,” he says. “I touched my phone to the door to unlock it and picked 1940s jazz out of the music options.”

Still, some experiences with autonomous vehicles have resulted in frustration, and Rogers and Sparks say there’s room for improvement. “Waymo didn’t register that it had new passengers,” Sparks says of one recent ride. “We had to call for support, step out of the car, and give it a minute. Meanwhile, it blocked other cars from entering the parking lot.”

Nationwide, Waymo cars and other autonomous vehicles have come under scrutiny for failing to adhere to road safety laws such as stopping for school buses; some state legislatures have considered tougher restrictions on driverless cars.

Rogers acknowledges that the driverless ride still isn’t perfect. “But if I have a choice between an Uber and a Waymo,” she says, “I’m taking a Waymo.”

This article appears in our February 2026 issue.

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Atlanta is rated highly for many things, but traffic is once again among them. 

A new report released Tuesday by the American Transportation Research Institute ranks four metro Atlanta highway interchanges among the top 10 worst bottlenecks in the country. 

According to the report, some of the most congested stretches include:

•  I-285 at I-85 North
•  I-75 at I-285 North
• I-20 at I-285 West
• I-75 in McDonough

Drivers navigating those areas said the ranking comes as no surprise.

“It is irritating, that is all I can say,” said motorist Olivia Grant.

A common sight across metro Atlanta highways: flashing brake lights, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and long delays during rush hours. “It is pretty rough, as usual,” added driver Raymond Meeks. 

The report focuses heavily on truck congestion. Drivers said they understand why trucks are emphasized in the findings.

“They have to stay on the road 18 and 19 hours a day,” Meeks said.

Grant pointed to rapid development as another possible factor.

“Especially with the increase in the new warehouses around here,” she said.

One truck driver who did not want to appear on camera, said the report accurately reflects what drivers experience every day particularly along I-75 south of Atlanta.

“Yes, every day. From here on I-75, from basically the Jonesboro Road exit all the way down to Locust Grove, it’s bottlenecks,”  he said. He added that maneuvering large trucks is especially challenging. “It is very difficult because of the traffic and the road restrictions, and it is hard to maneuver,” he explained.

What can be done to ease congestion this congestion?  

Staton’s advice to commuters: “It takes time, but you just have to be patient. If you do it enough, you’ll get used to it.”

Others hope long-term solutions are on the horizon.

“Something definitely needs to be done about it,” Grant said.

Lawmakers set to revisit proposed highway speed limit increase at rescheduled hearing

Local lawmakers are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss additional strategies in HB809 to address metro Atlanta’s traffic challenges. A hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, but officials said it had to be rescheduled. 

It’ll take place at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB) in Suite 606. The address is 18 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta, GA 30334. 

If lawmakers vote favorably for the proposal, it will be passed to the Rules Committee.

It would increase the minimum speed limit to 50 miles per hour on highways in the state located in 65+ miles per zones.