Waymo Robotaxis Rely on Public Services to Get Unstuck

As autonomous vehicle companies scale up, they're increasingly calling on first responders to help their stuck robotaxis.

Mar. 29, 2026 at 4:05pm by Ben Kaplan

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Waymo, the autonomous driving company owned by Alphabet, is now providing 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week. However, this rapid growth has created new challenges, including the inevitability of robotaxis getting stuck and requiring assistance from taxpayer-funded public services to get moving again. In some cases, first responders have had to divert from emergency calls to manually drive Waymo vehicles that were paralyzed, raising questions about the responsibility of these tech companies.

Why it matters

As more autonomous vehicle companies like Motional, Zoox, and Tesla deploy paid robotaxi services, the reliance on public resources to unstick their vehicles could become a growing burden on local governments and first responders. This highlights the need for clear liability frameworks and collaboration between the tech industry and municipalities to address these issues as the autonomous vehicle ecosystem scales up.

The details

Waymo's robotaxis have gotten stuck in various situations, including during a blackout in California and when a police officer responding to a mass shooting in Austin had to first move a Waymo vehicle out of the way. While Waymo has its own roadside assistance team, the company has relied on taxpayer-funded public services to manually drive its stuck vehicles. Some officials, like San Francisco District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong, have expressed concerns that 'our first responders should not be AAA' for these autonomous vehicle companies.

  • In December, Waymo robotaxis became paralyzed during a blackout in California.
  • Earlier this month, a police officer responding to a mass shooting in Austin was diverted to move a stuck Waymo robotaxi.

The players

Waymo

An autonomous driving company and a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.

Alan Wong

San Francisco District 4 Supervisor who has expressed concerns about first responders assisting stuck Waymo vehicles.

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What they’re saying

“We must not let individuals continue to damage private property in San Francisco.”

— Robert Jenkins, San Francisco resident

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights growing concerns in the community about repeat offenders released on bail, raising questions about bail reform, public safety on SF streets, and if any special laws to govern autonomous vehicles in residential and commercial areas.