The autonomous vehicles of Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG, have been causing a disturbance in a San Francisco parking lot. The vehicles have been honking for extended periods, disturbing the residents in the area.
What Happened: The self-driving vehicles of Waymo are parked in a rented lot in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood when not in use. They have been causing a disturbance by honking at each other for up to an hour, as early as 4 a.m. and during evening rush hour, reported Business Insider.
Christopher Cherry, a local resident, expressed his frustration, stating that the honking is distracting during the day and disruptive at 4 a.m. He has documented over a dozen such incidents.
A Waymo spokesperson confirmed that the company is aware of the issue and is working on a solution. “We have identified the cause and are in the process of implementing a fix,” said Waymo spokesperson according to the report.
Why It Matters: The disturbances caused by Waymo robotaxis come at a crucial time for the company. Recently, Alphabet Inc. committed another $5 billion to Waymo, reinforcing its confidence in the autonomous driving unit.
This investment aims to bolster Waymo’s technology and commercialization efforts, as highlighted by Waymo co-CEO Tekedra N Mawakana in a post on X.
Moreover, Waymo has set a high standard for autonomous driving, which competitors like Tesla Inc. TSLA must meet to gain regulatory approval for their own robotaxi services. Gary Black, Managing Partner at Future Fund, emphasized that Tesla needs to match Waymo’s performance metrics to secure similar licenses.
Despite these advancements, Waymo has faced challenges, including an incident where one of its driverless cars was flagged down by police for driving into opposing lanes in Phoenix. This incident drew public attention and even a reaction from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo One, recently became available to everyone in San Francisco, marking the city as the second location after Phoenix to offer this service to the general public. The company has been scaling its operations deliberately, aiming to provide safe and reliable transportation.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
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