Waymo Hires Food Couriers to Close Car Doors, Exposing "Human Backup" in Autonomous Driving

Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have encountered a new operational issue: the cars won’t start if passengers fail to close the doors. To address this, Waymo has partnered with DoorDash to pilot a “human backup” solution in Atlanta—whereby the system alerts nearby DoorDash drivers to come and shut the door for a fee of $6.25, plus an additional $5 bonus upon successful verification. This arrangement is no joke; both companies have confirmed its authenticity. Previously, in Los Angeles, Waymo used the towing app Honk to recruit individuals for similar tasks, offering as much as $24 per incident. Although currently reliant on human intervention for such emergencies, Waymo says future vehicle models will feature automatic door-closing functionality. Until then, gig economy workers have become indispensable temporary helpers for the autonomous driving system.