- Waymo robotaxis were fined $65,065 for 589 parking violations in San Francisco in 2024.
- Data reveals that 138 of the violations were for not obeying street cleaning restrictions.
- The tech firm’s robotaxis also received 75 fines while operating in Los Angeles last year.
The whole concept of robotaxis is supposed to bring us convenient, safe, and efficient transportation, but it seems the Waymo vehicles in San Francisco are developing a knack for something a little less desirable—parking violations. In fact, the company’s fleet of autonomous cars has managed to rack up quite a few fines.
According to data from the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency, Waymo vehicles received 589 parking tickets in 2024 alone, accumulating fines that totaled $65,065. There are over 300 Waymo vehicles operating in San Francisco, and as of last September, they’ve clocked more than 10 million miles on city streets.
Parking Fines: A Robotaxi’s New Feature
The Washington Post reports that a good chunk of those violations, 138 to be exact, were for failing to follow street cleaning restrictions, while 134 were due to obstructing traffic. There were also 77 tickets for parking in prohibited areas and 74 for double parking. If that’s not enough, Waymo robotaxis also received 75 fines in Los Angeles last year. So, apparently, it’s not just a San Francisco problem.
Read: Waymo Robotaxi Traps Passenger In Endless Parking Lot Circles
One of the city’s parking control officers, Sterling Haywood, says he ticketed a Waymo car after noticing it was parked for several hours in a spot designated for street cleaning. While that may not sound like a big deal, Michael Brooks, the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, says that if a robotaxi is obstructing the flow of traffic, it could increase the risk of crashes involving other drivers, perhaps forcing them to swerve or brake suddenly.
Waymo’s Defense: Safety First (and Parking Second)
Waymo insists that its Jaguar I-Pace models are equipped to recognize parking spaces and detect if they’re blocking traffic. However, they may stop in commercial loading zones to drop off a rider “if the only other available locations are a congested arterial road, or somewhere much further from where the rider needed to go.”
According to Waymo spokesman Ethan Teicher, the vehicles are designed to make “the safest action available” during the short window of time spent picking up or dropping off riders, which is when most of these parking tickets seem to occur.
While the goal for the robotaxis is to become safer, not everyone in San Francisco likes the Waymo cars. In February last year, one of the company’s robotaxis was set on fire by vandals during Lunar New Year celebrations. Sometimes the vehicles can be just plain annoying, like when dozens of them were gathering at a parking lot in the city and honking their horns in the middle of the night.
So, even though the robotaxi revolution is meant to make life easier, it seems there’s still some road to travel before these autonomous vehicles can be truly problem-free.
