Waymo Deploys Humans to Close Robotaxi Doors
Waymo is rolling out its sixth-generation robotaxi platform and expanding service into three new cities. Despite the advanced autonomous driving technology, the company has encountered a basic operational hurdle, now deploying human contractors to manually close vehicle doors that fail to shut automatically. The issue highlights the persistent challenge of bridging advanced AI with everyday hardware and user-experience reliability.
- To solve the problem, Waymo is dispatching gig workers through a pilot program with DoorDash in Atlanta and using the roadside assistance app Honk in Los Angeles. Payments for the simple task of shutting a door have been reported as high as $11.25 in Atlanta and $24 in Los Angeles. - The issue is rooted in Waymo's current fleet, which primarily consists of retrofitted Jaguar I-PACE SUVs that were not originally designed with automatic door-closing mechanisms for autonomous ride-hailing. A vehicle with an open door is unable to move and proceed to its next fare, taking a revenue-generating asset offline. - This operational challenge emerges as Waymo is deploying its sixth-generation Driver system, a significant hardware and software upgrade. The new system features improved sensors for adverse weather, including 17-megapixel imagers, but is being integrated into new, purpose-built vehicles like the Zeekr Ojai, not the legacy Jaguar fleet. - Waymo has stated that future vehicle platforms will feature automated door-closing technology, but has not provided a public timeline for the rollout. This highlights a key challenge in robotics, where the integration of advanced AI with legacy hardware can create unforeseen "edge case" failures that require human intervention. - The reliance on human contractors impacts the unit economics of autonomous rides, which are predicated on removing the human driver's labor costs from each trip. This door-closing issue demonstrates how seemingly minor mechanical tasks can re-introduce human labor costs at scale, complicating the path to profitability. - This problem is not happening in a vacuum; Waymo is in the midst of its most aggressive expansion, aiming to launch in over 20 new cities and achieve 1 million weekly rides by the end of 2026. The need for a human-in-the-loop solution for a basic function like door closing presents a significant operational hurdle to scaling so rapidly.
