Over the past few weeks, San Francisco residents have been losing sleep over the continuous honking noise coming from Waymo's self-driving taxis. These robotaxis, part of the Alphabet-owned company, have become notorious for their disruptive behavior during nighttime, particularly as they park and prepare for new rides.
Initially, many residents were excited about the arrival of Waymo's autonomous vehicles, expecting increased security and peace. Unfortunately, as the fleet expanded, so did the disturbances, with vehicles honking at each other as they maneuvered to find parking spots.
Christopher Cherry, who lives near one of the car parks, shared his frustration, stating, "The cars are robotic and they're honking at each other and there's no one in the cars when it's happening, and that's absurd." He noted the noise began quietly but intensified as more cars were introduced, causing sleepless nights.
The honking often reaches its peak during the early morning hours, around 4 AM, and during the evening rush hour. Residents like Sophia Tung, who livestreams the activity on YouTube, have captured the chaos, provoking mixed reactions as viewers tune in to witness the seemingly random behavior of the vehicles.
Tung's videos showcase the loud beeping at night, with her viewers processing the absurdity of autonomous cars behaving like startled humans. "Help," she asks at the end of her streams, epitomizing the frustrations of those awoken at night.
According to reports, the honking issue was connected to software updates aimed at enhancing the cars' safety features. These updates enabled the vehicle's horns to beep when detecting nearby objects, which inadvertently led to chaos as multiple cars congregated at the parking lot.
Residents report daily occurrences of beeping at all hours, significantly disrupting their peace. Many expressed disappointment, with one resident commenting on how frequently they are woken up, contrasting their current experience with many years of previously quiet living.
This noisy disturbance has become so notable it has garnered the attention of local media and social media viewers alike. Viewers of Tung's livestreams have even created spreadsheets to track the various horn honking instances, sharing timestamps for particularly interesting moments.
Waymo has now acknowledged the problem and claimed to have resolved the excessive honking issue. A company spokesperson explained, "We didn’t quite anticipate it would happen so often" and assured residents of reduced honking moving forward following updates to their software.
On Wednesday morning, viewers noted the vehicles departed the parking lot quietly, leading Tung to confirm, "They didn’t honk" during their exit. The apparent resolution brought some relief to neighborhood residents but highlighted the challenges of integrating autonomous technology within residential areas.
Waymo's electric robotaxis, which primarily operate within mapped urban environments, must navigate through active traffic and parking situations. Though these self-driving cars have shown remarkable capabilities on busy streets, incidents like these show the unforeseen hurdles awaiting the widespread deployment of autonomous tech.
Currently, Waymo operates its fleet of Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles across several cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, and plans to expand to Austin. Despite their technical advancements, the recent honking chaos emphasizes the need for better integration of autonomous vehicles within existing urban frameworks.
Residents have voiced their hope for improvements to facilitate safer and quieter operations. Many will be monitoring the changes as both Waymo and the local community adapt to refine the company's autonomous vehicle service without compromising residents' quality of life.
