Uncovered records reveal the hidden costs of Waymo robotaxis on San Francisco streets

"Sometimes, they report the cars for signs of an illegal maneuver, like when in September, a driver operating the city's 45 electric bus noticed a Waymo trying to pass on double solid yellow lines at Stockton and Columbus, an intersection along its route. Or for a near miss-like, when, last December, a Waymo was caught by a city light rail train's video camera making a dangerous left turn at 'high speed.'"

"Clearing the vehicle might require a transportation official to reach out to a Waymo call center, or even the cops, for help. This process, which involves the city's Traffic Management Center (TMC), can take as long as an hour to resolve. Back in 2024, the city's MTA even created a new dedicated dispatch category to log these reports: 'Driverless Car Incident.'"

"A TMC database, obtained by Fast Company via a public records request, suggests that reports of problematic robotaxis are being filed more often, and that the procedure for handling stalled vehicles is not yet seamless. Fixing the robotaxi blockage can involve waiting for a remote Waymo assistance team helping the vehicle's AI get moving again, a transit dispatcher complaining to a Waymo call center, or even a cop taking control of the vehicle themselves and driving it away."

San Francisco transit operators increasingly report problems with Waymo robotaxis, including illegal maneuvers, dangerous driving, and stalled vehicles blocking streets. The city's MTA created a dedicated incident category to track these issues. Resolving stalled robotaxis involves coordination between city traffic management, Waymo call centers, and sometimes police intervention, with resolution times reaching up to an hour. A Traffic Management Center database reveals growing frequency of problematic robotaxi reports. The situation intensified during a December blackout when traffic lights failed, leaving Waymos immobilized and stranding city officials attempting to contact Waymo support during an emergency.

Read at Fast Company