Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or instead, the past?
Waymo is fortunate to have a better reputation than the rest, but their incident rate is still not acceptable…
Susan Vaughan reports in 48hills that SF Mayor Lurie is both gutting transit and subverting the political process in trying to bring Waymos, Ubers, and Lyfts to car-free Market Street.
ABC7 News reports that once again Waymos are a target for people, especially drunk bros in the Marina District. Nothing new there. But the odd thing is that ABC7 News included short interview with Selika Josiah Talbott who unfortunately doesn't understand AI nor how AVs are trained.
A short video clip showing how on 8/30/25 a Waymo clanker and a Muni bus got into an altercation. And it was due to poor driving ability of the Waymo.
SF Standard reports that while the San Francisco mayor has (falsely) decreed that ride hailing cars can go back onto Market Street, fortunately the ride-hailing companies are still avoiding it.
SF Examiner reports that Waymo has quietly tripled the number of vehicles in the San Francisco area, without disclosing the increases until now. No wonder traffic is getting worse and worse.
Gothamist reports that the opposition to NYC's Waymo pilot is quickly growing, especially amongst actual humans who drive taxis.
KRON 4 reports that Waymo is allegedly now picking up passengers on Market Street. Interestingly, they have zero examples of that actually happening.
SF Chronicle reports that the DA is charging multiple counts of vandalism for allegedly damaging multiple Waymo vehicles. It appears that one of the charges is for a "coning" that caused no damage.
Motortrend reports on the new Zeekr vehicles that have recently been spotted in San Francisco, though not yet able to provide passenger service.
Reuters reports that NHTSA has dropped their investigation of multiple Waymo incidences including collisions and traffic violations. No action was taken.
Jalopnik reports that Boston folks and their city officials do not want Waymo robotaxis without first understanding their impact on equity and employment.
Boston Globe reports that City Councilors are not happy with Waymo providing robotaxi service in Boston due to concerns about congestion, safety, and workers.
ABC 7 News reports that a Waymo took a passenger on a "shortcut" and they ended up stuck in the Waymo dungeon parking garage. Whoops!
NBC Bay Area reports on efforts to create a national law for significantly improving reporting requirements for autonomous vehicles.
electrek reports that after Tesla tried to get attention by extending their Austin service area into the shape of a phallus, Waymo simply put them in place by expanding their service area even further.
