- Robo-taxi company Waymo is stopping parking-hopping concerts
Waymo's robotaxis have been disturbing residents next to a parking lot in San Francisco with nightly honking concerts - now the Google sister company is providing a solution with a software update.
The trigger was a new feature where the self-driving cars honk when someone approaches them backwards at a slow speed. This worked well in the city, but Waymo didn't expect this situation to occur frequently on their own parking lot, a spokesperson told tech blog "The Verge". The software update will restore peace.
A resident had set up a livestream from the Waymo-rented parking lot in recent days, accompanying the honking sounds with music. The cars were returning from nighttime missions to the parking lot as early as 4:00 AM, she reported. Her videos show the driverless robotaxis reversing while turning on the parking lot, honking at the cars behind them.
Waymo offers rides with robotaxis without a human driver in several US cities, and the service is already available in San Francisco without a waiting list.
In recent years, local authorities and transportation agencies have sometimes complained that the vehicles were blocking streets, but generally, the cars are driving without any issues.
The software update from Waymo aims to silence the nightly honking concerts caused by their self-driving cars in the parking lot. Despite the robotaxis returning from missions as early as 4:00 AM, a resident found their reverse maneuvers in the parking lot particularly disruptive, leading to the honking.
