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A Los Angeles resident is claiming that he almost missed his flight after a Waymo robotaxi drove him in circles around the airport.
According to the passenger’s account, he had requested a ride from the Waymo service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) when disaster struck. Instead of taking the most direct route to the airport, the autonomous vehicle took an unusual detour that ended up wasting precious time and nearly causing him to miss his flight.
“I was already running late for my flight, and then I see we’re not even close to the airport,” the passenger told Gizmodo in an interview. “I asked the Waymo AI why we were taking a shortcut through this weird alleyway behind some warehouses, and it just kept telling me ‘re-routing’ over and over again.”
After realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, the passenger took matters into his own hands and attempted to intervene by shouting at the car’s screens. “I started yelling at the thing like I was trying to wake up a sleeping giant,” he recalled. “It didn’t work, of course – I mean, it’s an AI, right? But at least someone had to try.”
The passenger eventually managed to escape the vehicle and hail down another taxi service that finally got him to the airport on time. He expressed disappointment in Waymo’s failure to adapt to real-time traffic conditions and frustration with the company’s lack of transparency.
“It feels like Waymo is still stuck in beta,” he lamented. “How can they claim to be so advanced when they can’t even handle simple tasks like getting me from point A to point B without turning it into a circus act?”
Waymo has since issued a statement acknowledging the incident and promising to improve its routing algorithms and passenger communication systems.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this issue and appreciate feedback from our riders,” a Waymo spokesperson said. “Our top priority is ensuring the safety and satisfaction of all passengers, and we will take steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
It’s worth noting that this isn’t an isolated incident, as several other reports have surfaced online about similar issues with Waymo’s routing systems.
Source: gizmodo.com
