After Waymo claimed to have fixed the issue, its robotaxis are making all sorts of commotions in San Francisco that awake its residents during the late night and early morning hours. Many have complained about being restless because of this issue, and Alphabet's self-driving ride-hailing service claimed to already have this sorted, but apparently, it is not the case.
It was revealed by Waymo that when its robotaxis call it a day and park autonomously, it makes all sorts of car noises like honking or beeping as it is part of its safety feature.
Waymo's Robotaxis are Still Honking Late at Night in San Francisco
(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The Verge reported that Waymo's claim last week that it fixed the excessive noise blurted out by its robotaxis is not yet solving the issue, and San Francisco residents are still bombarded by its sounds. It came after Waymo's representative claimed that the company already rolled out a fix, also explaining that it was a safety feature of the self-driving cars.
A San Francisco-based software engineer, Sophia Tung, shared her experiences with Waymo's noisy robotaxis, also setting up a live stream that shows the world the loud phenomenon of these cars.
It was revealed that after the first fix, Waymo cars missed the parking lot and entered a "cul de sac" which was later congested by the robotaxis, still, excessively honking at each other.
The Fix from Waymo Did Not Solve Robotaxi's Commotion
After the said incident since Waymo's first patch, the company reportedly disabled this cul de sac, and led to quiet nights in San Francisco, but only for several days.
The issue came back with another incident from Waymo where its cars started wailing at each other as they tried to park in their dedicated lots. It started with one driverless car backing towards the line of awaiting EVs, setting off a chain reaction of honking robotaxis.
Waymo and its Robotaxi Operations in the US
Alphabet's Waymo is among those who have made wonders and introduced the widely-available robotaxi service in the United States, and it did so alongside General Motor's Cruise. Both companies have established their first presence in San Francisco, the pioneer city to have approved this experience for its residents and visitors to ride a driverless service around.
However, while this seems promising for the cities it had done its tests, these were not perfect, and Waymo faced massive issues in the past for crashes involving its robotaxis. At one point, it faced a because of crashes, as well asCalifornia's Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) temporarily suspending its plans to expand in San Mateo and Los Angeles.
That being said, Waymo is back to bring its robotaxis to offer rides to those who request it via the app, demonstrating its development of a fully driverless experience in the cities where it is available.
Crashes are not the problem with Waymo's operations now, but its takeover of public parking lots where it makes a massive noise that keeps San Francisco's residents awake, with its fix still yet to solve the issue.
