Waymo’s robot taxis wake up their San Francisco neighbors with a nightly honk of horns as the autonomous cars navigate the parking lot, idling and waiting for new passengers.
NBC Bay Area first reported that the self-driving vehicles sometimes honk at each other as early as 4 a.m. and for about an hour during the evening rush hour.
“We started with a few honks here and there, and then as more and more cars arrived, the situation got worse,” Christopher Cherry, who lives near the rented property in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood where the Waymo cars park, told NBC Bay Area.
He added: “It’s a big distraction during the workday, but most importantly, it wakes you up at four in the morning.”
Cherry, the outlet reported, documented more than a dozen disruptive incidents in which vehicles honked around the clock.
A Waymo spokesperson told Business Insider that the company is aware that “in some cases, our vehicles may briefly honk while navigating our parking lots.”
“We have identified the cause and are in the process of implementing a solution,” the spokesman told BI.
The noise was captured in videos posted on social media, with some confused onlookers live-streaming the comings and goings of the self-driving cars.
“Honestly, it’s fun to watch the cars come and go,” local software engineer Sophia Tung told The Verge about her livestream of the cars, adding, “It’s actually just the honking that needs to be fixed.”
