Waymo glitch traps tourist in endless loop, almost misses flight home
Mike John, the Founder of Digital State of Mind and a Los Angeles resident, was visiting Arizona when he decided to take a Waymo ride back to the airport. Waymo is a taxi service where vehicles are powered by incredible technology that allows them to drive themselves. The company offers rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin.
John was trying to catch a flight back home from Scottsdale when suddenly, the electric Jaguar became trapped in a loop. He couldn’t stop the ride, he couldn’t open the doors, and it wouldn’t stop driving in circles. So, John took his phone out of his pocket and recorded it on video.
“I got a flight to catch. Why is this thing going in a circle? I’m getting dizzy,” John said on a call to Waymo, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
“It’s circling around a parking lot. I got my seat belt on. I can’t get out of the car. Has this been hacked? What’s going on? I feel like I’m in the movies. Is somebody playing a joke on me?”
John made it home, but he nearly missed his flight back to LA due to the software snafu.
Waymo’s customer service was fairly unhelpful, he said
While spinning, John said the woman who answered his call told him to open the app and that she’d attempt to stop the car, but it took a very long time.
“After it went in a circle for like the fifth or sixth time, it was a very uncomfortable feeling,” he said in his interview with KTLA. “You know, you’re strapped in, you can’t open the door, the vehicle just kept going in circles… Obviously they realized there was a malfunction, but the kicker was that they were trying to use my phone to fix it.”
When he returned home, John filed a complaint with the company stating concerns for safety and customer service with driverless taxi services. He reported the company hasn’t followed up with him since the incident.
The Los Angeles Times contacted the company, who said they’ve attempted to contact him over the phone “several times.” The same spokesperson said his ride was refunded.
“You’d think by now Waymo would email, text, or call or a follow-up,” said John.
KTLA says Waymo hasn’t responded to their request for comment.