A cable car crosses the path of a self-driving Waymo taxi in San Francisco. October, 2024.
© Paul Edward Parker/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Scottsdale, AZ) – Many hope that robotaxis will improve things in the future. Similar to self-driving cars, the technology theoretically has the ability to make transportation easier — and less problematic. Some delays caused by accidents or “brake checking” may in fact be a thing of the past once robots are doing the driving. But for now, the tech is less-than-perfect — and just caused a LA-based businessman to miss his flight.
Mike Johnson is a tech entrepreneur, and says he recently missed his flight home from Arizona — because his robotaxi malfunctioned. He hailed a Waymo driverless taxi in Scottsdale, while headed to the airport. But Johns reports the robotaxi started making circles in the parking lot and wouldn’t stop. Via the Los Angeles Times, a Waymo spokesperson says the issue caused Johns to be delayed by around five minutes. The robotaxi then drove him to the airport.
That same spokesperson blamed the issue on a software glitch — which has since been resolved. Johns was apparently not charged for his ride.
Meanwhile, as the work week got underway Monday, numerous passengers found themselves delayed while trying to fly due to a more traditional issue — snow and ice. By mid-day, six states had declared a state of emergency in response to the massive winter storm. The travel is hazardous from Illinois to New Jersey, with more than 60 million people dealing with loss of power. Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri have reported the most power outages.
Down in Washington, DC, where members of Congress will meet to certify Donald Trump’s election as president — a snow emergency has been declared.
