Waymo’s self-driving cars can navigate busy streets without a human behind the wheel. But they have a surprisingly simple weakness: they can’t close their own doors. If a passenger hops out and leaves the door ajar, the high-tech vehicle freezes. It refuses to move until someone clicks the latch shut.
To fix this, Waymo is running a pilot program in Atlanta. They are paying gig workers from apps like DoorDash to act as emergency door-closers.
News of this broke after a driver shared a screenshot on Reddit. The image showed a request offering $11.25 to drive to a nearby Waymo vehicle and close the door. Alphabet, Waymo’s parent company, confirmed the test on Thursday. The system notifies delivery drivers in the area so they can help the robotaxi get back on the road quickly.
It isn’t just DoorDash. Waymo also uses Honk, a roadside assistance service. A recent report from The Washington Post noted that Honk workers in Los Angeles saw offers as high as $24 to perform the same task.
Waymo and DoorDash said in a joint statement that they are exploring flexible earning opportunities for drivers. Waymo also noted that their future vehicles will have automatic doors, though they didn’t give a specific date for that upgrade.
This reliance on gig workers highlights a funny reality about automation. Waymo recently secured a valuation of $126 billion, yet it still depends on humans for basic troubleshooting. These operational costs add up. Alphabet’s latest filing shows its “Other Bets” division, which includes Waymo, lost $7.5 billion last year.
Despite the open-door hurdles, Waymo is pushing forward. On Thursday, the company began deploying its newest robotaxi model. They currently offer fully driverless rides in six U.S. markets and plan to expand to more cities later this year. For now, though, they just need people to make sure the doors are shut.
