Waymo Receives Almost 600 Parking Tickets in San Francisco Last Year
The Parking Plight of Waymo’s Self‑Driving Fleet
Waymo’s roaming army of over 300 autonomous cars may obey traffic laws fine and dandy, but when it comes to parking, the rules are a bit more like a free‑for‑all sale. According to city records quoted by The Washington Post, the 12‑wheel‑ducks pulled in 589 parking tickets last year, amassing a hefty $65,065 in fines. The violations ranged from blocking traffic, ignoring street‑cleaning schedules, to parked smack‑in‑the‑middle of the “no‑stop” zones.
Why Parking in San Francisco is a Breeze for the Robos
San Francisco works out parking tickets at a blistering rate—think flyers on the sidewalk. The San Francisco Standard reports roughly 1.2 million citations tossed out last year alone. So, from Waymo’s viewpoint, stumbling into one of these is about as inevitable as a burrito in a two‑way street.
“We’re Working on It,” Says Waymo’s Spokesperson
Fresh out of the press office, a Waymo rep assured The Washington Post that solutions are on the way. We suspect that the grand master plan will only kick off when every car on the lot is driverless in full throttle. Meanwhile, a Waymo could still get stuck in a commercial loading bay to drop a passenger, especially if the main road is jammed or the destination is a stone’s throw away from a curb. Even the brief pauses between rides, when the robot sits in an empty lot, might trigger a ticket if it lands in a prohibited zone.
The Human‑Like Dilemma of Parking Decisions
- When the city’s full of traffic and the last stop‑light is 200 yards away, a Waymo might take a shortcut to a loading dock.
- When the nearest hub is a mile away, the robot will pause—almost parking—between trips.
Just like those human drivers who scoff at the rulebook occasionally, the self‑drives will make the same “parking-for-a-minute” types of choices until they’re fully autonomous and the laws shift.
Bottom Line
Waymo’s cars are the ultimate hand‑satisfying MVPs of the streets, but parking remains the one area where human quirks trickle into the AI playground. Until the skies are truly empty—both of drivers and of policies—those tickets won’t vanish. And, frankly, that’s probably a good thing; it keeps the city’s traffic‑law enforcement busy enough to stay funded.
