Waymo Robotaxi Incident Raises Reliability Concerns

Mike Johns experienced a troubling incident in December while riding in a Waymo robotaxi, which inexplicably circled a parking lot for nearly seven minutes, causing him to fear missing his flight. Waymo acknowledged the occurrence, labeling it a 'routing problem' due to a software glitch, which has since been addressed through an update. During the ordeal, Johns attempted to gain control of the vehicle through the Waymo app, but customer support stated they couldn't take over the car remotely. This incident adds to a series of challenges faced by Waymo, including previous investigations and unusual behavior from its autonomous vehicles. Despite the mishap, Johns expressed a willingness to try the service again after discussing the incident with Waymo. The company continues to expand its fleet with new models while grappling with the complexities of self-driving technology.