April 10, 2026 - San Francisco Post

Waymo and Waze Launch Joint Pilot to Identify Bay Area Potholes

San Francisco Staff 2 on April 10, 2026

Waymo and Waze have launched a road condition data pilot that uses Waymo’s autonomous vehicle sensors to detect potholes and share information with cities through Waze for Cities and Waze navigation users.

The pilot program, announced April 9, 2026, uses data from Waymo’s commercial robotaxi fleet, including cameras, lidar, radar, and onboard systems, to identify roadway irregularities such as potholes and make that data available on the Waze for Cities platform at no direct cost to participating municipal agencies.

Waymo Robotaxis Feed Pothole Data to Cities Through Waze

Under the pilot, Waymo vehicles collect road condition data during routine robotaxi operations. This information is then transmitted to the Waze for Cities platform, a tool that partners with local and state transportation agencies to provide real-time road condition analytics.

Municipal agencies in service areas where Waymo operates, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta, can access this pothole and road condition information. The program aims to augment traditional methods such as manual inspection or public reports with automated data captured by vehicles continually traversing public streets.

Waze users in cities where the pilot is active also have access to pothole data collected by Waymo robotaxis. Where users confirm potholes through the Waze app, these validations contribute to the dataset available to city officials.

How the Waymo-Waze Data Pipeline Works

Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are built with a combination of cameras, lidar, radar, and motion sensors that support safe navigation. The same sensor suite captures information about road surface conditions such as bumps and depressions relative to expected roadway geometry.

Data processing systems convert these sensor readings into geolocated indicators of possible potholes. Once identified, those locations are made available on the Waze platform, where they can be reviewed alongside user-generated reports in the app. This system aims to provide a more comprehensive view of road health than reliance on public reports alone.

The pilot’s design allows transportation departments to view and export data for planning repair schedules and prioritization. While the program’s availability and reporting features vary by location, it represents a growing integration of private mobility data with public infrastructure management tools.

City Participation and Response

Transportation officials in communities where Waymo operates have shown varying reactions to the program. Some city leaders have expressed interest in access to automated road condition data, noting that it could supplement existing inspection efforts. Officials in Phoenix, Sacramento, and the broader Bay Area have acknowledged that supplemental data could help identify surface irregularities sooner.

At the same time, some infrastructure planners and public works experts note that data availability does not directly resolve underlying challenges such as repair funding or capacity constraints, which remain primary determinants of repair timelines and outcomes. These experts emphasize that road management requires resources and workforce planning beyond mapping alone.

Road Condition Mapping Beyond Potholes

Although the current focus is primarily potholes and similar surface anomalies, the data platform’s framework supports detection and reporting of a broader range of road condition issues captured by vehicle sensors. Waze users have long reported a variety of roadway hazards such as debris or hazards, and Waymo’s pilot adds additional automated input.

The integration of automated detection with user validation aims to refine the accuracy of reported conditions, helping transportation agencies target repair resources effectively. This type of data also provides enhanced context for navigation users, who receive alerts about roadway irregularities on the Waze app.

Implications for Urban Infrastructure Management

The pilot signals an evolving use of autonomous mobility data in urban infrastructure management. By contributing near-real-time road condition data alongside user reports, the initiative illustrates how private vehicle sensor networks can support public services without imposing direct costs on cities.

Cities evaluating the pilot emphasize that this data complements existing reporting channels such as direct public input and scheduled inspections, offering a broader dataset for understanding street conditions across extensive networks of roads and highways. Transportation planners continue to assess how best to operationalize these data streams within existing public works workflows and how automated condition mapping could fit alongside traditional asset management systems.

Future Program Direction and Expansion

Waymo and Waze expect to expand the pilot to additional cities and refine its data sharing over time. As deployment grows, the program could include additional types of road condition information derived from autonomous fleet operations, pending validation and technical integration.

Participation by a broad set of municipal agencies will determine how widely this model is adopted for infrastructure planning. Transportation officials and urban planners are evaluating the effectiveness and accuracy of automated road mapping as a potential recurring data input for maintenance schedules.

What Transportation Officials Should Know

City transportation leaders considering the Waymo-Waze pilot can expect a supplemental data source for road condition analysis accessible through the Waze for Cities platform. The system is designed to complement, not replace, existing inspection and maintenance processes by providing additional geolocated information on roadway surface conditions identified during regular autonomous vehicle operations.

As the pilot expands, integration with existing repair prioritization systems and asset management workflows will be key to realizing maximum value from the data sets generated by robotaxi sensor networks and user verification inputs.

Zachary Bernard on How Strategic Podcast Guesting Shortens the B2B Sales Cycle

San Francisco Post Staff on April 10, 2026

By: Alyssa Miller

In B2B, the sales cycle is long, relationship-dependent, and built on trust. Zachary Bernard, Founder of We Feature You PR, argues that podcast guesting is one of the most overlooked tools for compressing that cycle, not by replacing the relationship, but by building it before the first sales conversation ever happens.

“By the time a prospect who’s listened to your podcast interview gets on a call with you, they already know how you think,” Zachary says. “They’ve heard your philosophy. They’ve heard your stories. They’ve spent real time with your ideas. That call isn’t a cold pitch anymore, it’s a warm conversation between two people who are already aligned.”

Zachary’s agency has built relationships with over 700 podcast hosts since 2021, and the pattern he describes has become one of the most reported benefits among his B2B clients. When prospects self-select through podcast consumption, they arrive at the buying conversation with higher intent and lower skepticism.

The mechanism is straightforward. A podcast interview allows a leader to articulate their approach, share case studies, and demonstrate expertise in a format that feels educational rather than promotional. Listeners who resonate with that approach often reach out on their own, already sold on the person if not yet on the specific product or service.

“Traditional B2B marketing tries to convince people you’re credible,” Zachary explains. “Podcast guesting lets them discover it themselves. The psychology is completely different. When someone feels like they chose to trust you, because they listened to a 45-minute interview and agreed with your perspective, that trust is much stronger than anything a sales deck could create.”

Zachary recommends that B2B leaders focus their podcast strategy on shows whose audiences match their ideal client profile with precision. A SaaS founder selling to marketing directors should target marketing-focused podcasts. A consultant serving the healthcare industry should appear on shows that healthcare executives listen to.

“Relevance matters more than reach,” he says. “I’d rather have a client on five niche shows where every listener is a potential buyer than on fifty general business shows where the audience has no connection to what they sell.”

The content strategy matters too. Zachary coaches clients to lead with frameworks and insights during interviews rather than product features. By teaching something valuable, a methodology, a diagnostic question, a new way of thinking about a common problem, the guest positions themselves as the expert the audience would naturally want to hire.

“Give away your best thinking,” Zachary advises. “It sounds counterintuitive, but the more value you provide for free, the more people want to pay for your help. Generosity in a podcast interview is the fastest path to trust.”

Post-interview, Zachary emphasizes the importance of making it easy for interested listeners to take the next step. Mentioning a specific landing page, a free resource, or an open invitation to connect ensures that the warmth generated during the episode doesn’t dissipate before the listener can act on it.

“Always close with a clear, low-pressure call to action,” he says. “Not ‘buy my thing.’ Something like ‘If this resonated, I put together a free guide that goes deeper on this topic, you can grab it at this URL.’ That bridges the gap between listening and engaging.”

For B2B leaders facing long sales cycles and crowded markets, Zachary sees podcast guesting as a strategic advantage that competitors are slow to adopt.

“Every week you’re not on podcasts is a week your prospects are hearing from someone else. The leaders who build a consistent presence now will own the trust advantage in their market for years.”

Day: April 10, 2026