Waymo’s Robotaxi Update Causes Late Night Robo-Honking in San Francisco, Pissing Off Locals

Nothing is worse than having your ears drums assaulted by the sound of traffic when you’re trying to sleep. Lately, some residents of San Francisco seem to be suffering this fate, thanks to Waymo. Alphabet’s robotaxi company has been pissing off some locals, as the company’s automated cars have a habit of honking at each other late at night—sometimes for as long as an hour.

The issue first garnered attention earlier this week thanks to a YouTuber, Sophia Tung, who lives right next door to one of the parking lots where Waymo’s vehicles roost for the night. Tung has been posting videos (and even a live stream) of the activities in the lot. According to her, the cars come and go at all hours, arriving as late as 4 a.m. Lately, the cars have been honking at each other late at night, and the noise sometimes goes on for as long as an hour, she says. “Honestly, it’s fun to watch the cars come and go,” Tung told The Verge. She added that “it’s really just the honking that needs to be resolved.”

When reached for comment by Gizmodo, a Waymo spokesperson clarified that the honking was the result of a recent update: “We recently introduced a useful feature to help avoid low speed collisions by honking if other cars get too close while reversing toward us,” the spokesperson said. “It has been working great in the city, but we didn’t quite anticipate it would happen so often in our own parking lots. We’ve updated the software, so our electric vehicles should keep the noise down for our neighbors moving forward.”

Waymo has worked hard to make itself a dominant player in the emerging robotaxi market. In addition to San Francisco, the company currently has active locations in Los Angeles and Phoenix, Arizona, and is planning on expanding its footprint to other cities and regions. This week, the company announced that it would begin testing its vehicles on Bay Area freeways, a process it began in Phoenix earlier this year.