LA Man Says He Almost Missed His Waymo Trip After Driving Him Around

A Los Angeles man trying to get to an airport in Arizona in one of Waymo’s self-driving taxis last month got stuck on a frustrating road trip when the car spun around. The man says he almost missed his trip home. And while Waymo tells Gizmodo that the issue has been resolved, it’s still unclear what went wrong.

Mike Johns, a tech entrepreneur in LA, wrote about his experience LinkedIneven including a video of the problem. The video went viral far and wide on social media.

“My Monday was fine until I got into one of the empty Waymo cars. I go in, build (the first defense) and the saga begins,” Johns wrote. “This self-driving car said it had GPS, the car just circled around, eight circles at that. “

Johns, who did not immediately respond to a message sent through his website, said he wondered if someone was fooling him.

“Is there someone who pulls insults, this car has been stolen?” It (felt) like a scene in a sci fi thriller. My Waymo experience was rough. I remember I was on my way to the airport and almost missed my flight. I’m going to keep it traditional and just be Lyft or Uber,” Johns continued.

Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, told Gizmodo that the passenger had not been charged for the ride and had tried to contact Mr. Johns but had not yet been contacted. Waymo also emphasizes that the cycle took about five minutes. John said ABC15 Arizona that he was disappointed by what happened to him and “It’s like people to try.”

Johns said CBS News Los Angeles that he didn’t like the idea of ​​a human assistant (or robot) he was dealing with and didn’t know if he was talking to a human or an AI during the round.

“Where is the mercy?” Where is the human connection?” Johns told CBS News. “It’s the story of today’s modern world. It’s a half-baked cake and nobody meets the customer, the consumer, in the middle.”

This isn’t the first time that Waymo’s vehicles have gone haywire and seem to be stuck. In December, automotive news outlet Jalopnik reported on a Waymo car that appeared to be stranded in Arizona, spinning around. 37 times. The car was unoccupied at the time.

There have also been more disturbing cases of self-driving cars, such as the time Waymo rear-ended a cyclist in San Francisco. Feb. 2024. There was also a time in May 2024 when the Waymo car he answered the phonewhich brings to mind the technology of corporate mapping.

Johns compared his experience to a science fiction movie, which is not uncommon when people encounter strange things through the use of technology. And it can be hard to tell what went wrong from his perspective. When I rode a Waymo in Los Angeles a few months ago, the car took off just before I got in. The car decided that I needed to be carried on a curve, a very dangerous thing that a human driver would not do.

But it has a future, unless ride-hailing companies like Waymo can undercut the costs of services like Uber and Lyft. At least until they get rid of human drivers entirely. At that point, they can simply raise the price as Uber did when it reduced the taxi business. Time marches on.