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My Waymo Robotaxi keeps circling the airport parking lot; I'm getting dizzy.
That's what Mike Johns says after he booked a ride from Phoenix on a Waymo robotaxi for a flight to the San Fransisco airport. Imagine getting a ride from Waymo in its Jaguar I-Pace self-drive car; you are trying to catch a flight back home, you don't want to miss your flight, and the car keeps circling the airport.
When Mike booked a ride on Waymo for a routine ride to the airport, little did he know that it would turn into a nerve-wracking experience. The self-driving car's continuous circling of the parking lot left him feeling trapped, unable to unlatch his seat belt or exit, and on the brink of missing his flight.
Heading to the airport is a stressful enough experience, but the added fear of being late and potentially missing a flight is a nightmare. The robotaxi's continuous circling around the parking lot only heightened the tension, raising serious safety concerns.
A report from CBS News says, "Mike Johns was heading home from Scottsdale, Arizona last week when he hopped into a Waymo to head to a nearby airport. What happened next felt like a Disneyland ride."
Mike found himself in a distressing situation, feeling trapped inside the car as it spun around the parking lot. The report reveals that he, and even the customer service agent he was in contact with, were powerless to stop the self-driving vehicle.
"Why is this thing going in a circle? I'm getting dizzy. It's circling around a parking lot. I've got my seatbelt on, I can't get out of the car. Has this been hacked? What's going on?" Johns said.
The Waymo representative tells Johns she isn't able to make the car pull over and asks him to use the company's app on his phone to interrupt the ride.
After pulling the app back up on his smartphone, he tried it unsuccessfully.
As Mike continued on the phone with the Waymo representative, the agent finally got the car under control after a few minutes, allowing him to get to the airport just in time to catch his flight back to his home in Los Angeles.
Mike still isn't sure if he is talking to a real person.
The CBS report says Mike says there was a lack of empathy from the representative who attempted to help him, and on top of that, he's unsure if he was talking to a human or AI. Mike says they are major concerns.
"Where's the empathy? Where's the human connection to this?" Johns said while speaking with CBS News Los Angeles.
Mike says that after his experience with Waymo, he has no plans to hop in for a ride until he's sure the kinks have been fixed.
"Human-less, right? Human-less," Mike said. "That's the ghost in the shell, right?"
Waymo says the issue has been fixed.
Waymo says that the delay, which happened in mid-December, lasted just over five minutes, at which point the car drove Johns to the airport. They say he was not charged for the trip to the Phoenix airport and that a software update has addressed the "looping" issue.
Waymo said it had tried to follow up with Johns but could not reach him as of January 5th, 2025.
Mike complained that the customer service representative didn't seem concerned about the situation.
"It's just, again, a case of today's digital world. A half-baked product and nobody meeting the customer, the consumers, in the middle," He told CBS News.
What self-driving car does Waymo use?
Waymo says it uses the fully electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in its fleet.
How does the AI technology work?
Waymo's Jaguar I-Paces has automatic driving equipment and Lidar sensors, cameras, and radar. The company says the cars also have onboard computers that use server-grade CPUs and GPUs to identify objects and plan a safe route.
Waymo says, "The Waymo Driver is the embodiment of fully autonomous technology that is always in control from pickup to destination. Passengers don't even need to know how to drive. They can sit in the back seat, relax, and enjoy the ride with the Waymo Driver getting them to their destination safely."
Waymo is a Google project.
Waymo's self-driving cars are part of a project that began with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2004. Google renamed the project Waymo in 2016 and made it a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company.
Waymo's self-driving cars are currently available in several cities, including San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. The company will soon expand to Austin, Atlanta, and Miami.
What do you think?
Are you ready to use a self-driving car for trips to the airport? Click the red Add New Comment link below and let us know.
Check out Mariah's eventful EV story here. I’ve Had My Tesla Model 3 For 2 Days and I Already Want My Toyota Camry Back, Don’t Believe Them If They Tell You a Tesla is Better Than a Camry
I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Reporter since 2012. My 30+ year tenure in the automotive industry, initially in a consulting role with every major car brand and later as a freelance journalist test-driving new vehicles, has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge. I specialize in reporting the latest automotive news and providing expert analysis on Subaru, which you'll find here, ensuring that you, as a reader, are always well-informed and up-to-date. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.
Photo credit: Denis Flierl via Waymo
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