Jody Serrano
Editor in chiefEditor in Chief at Xataka On. Before joining Webedia, I was a tech reporter at Gizmodo and The Messenger. While I've covered all sorts of things related to technology, I'm specialized in writing about social media, Internet culture, Twitch, and streamers.
Beep. Beep. Beep. That’s the sound a Waymo robotaxi, and all autonomous vehicles in the U.S., have to make when backing up for the safety of the people around them.
While it may sound harmless on paper, a group of neighbors in Santa Monica, California want you to know that it’s definitely not. Some even say that they’ve been exposed to such torture from the robotaxis that they’re now hearing phantom beeps.
“I’ll just stand still for a second, because I think I hear it,” Darius Boorn, a Santa Monica resident who lives near a lot of Waymo cars, said. “If we’re home all day and night, then we’re hearing the beeping 24 hours a day.”
The lots. It all started with the lots. In January, Waymo opened two parking lots with space for more than 50 vehicles in downtown Santa Monica so its robotaxis could recharge, The Los Angeles Times reported. However, these aren’t normal parking lots.
Waymos that visit the lots legally have to beep. A lot. According to the outlet, they beep when they back out of their charging spots, they beep when they reverse to avoid hitting other robotaxis, they beep when they head out for the morning, and they beep when they come back at night. Beside the beeps, the cars also flash their lights and honk.
That’s not the only noise from the lot, though. There’s also noise from the human workers in charge of plugging them in to charge and vacuuming them.
“When they began operating the lots, it was by complete surprise and all of us stopped sleeping,” a local resident who asked that his name not be used told CNN. “Beep, beep, beep all night long.”
What does the law say? Although neighbors have complained that Waymo didn’t inform them of its plans to open up the charging stations, city officials say the company was under no obligation to do so. In fact, the city didn’t even know
“They were not obligated to tell us, since they’re renting it from a third party,” Lauren Howland, a city spokesperson, told the Times. “That said, they’ve been good partners overall, keeping us well informed on various matters and... have engaged with us to mitigate the impacts of this site on the neighbors.”
As far as the noise goes, Santa Monica officials say Waymo isn’t breaking the law in that case, either. They point out that the beeping isn’t loud enough to violate the city’s noise ordinance.
The residents strike back. Faced with inaction from the Santa Monica officials, some neighborhood residents have taken matters into their own hands.
Some hide their faces like comic book vigilantes. At midnight, they head out to the Waymo lots and stand in front of the robotaxis so they can’t get into the lot to charge. Other residents place cones in front of the robotaxis. One resident put their own car in front of the entrance to the parking lot to block the self-driving cars from entering.
Waymo responds. Waymo has insisted that it’s trying to be a good neighbor. The company claims it has limited the hours of the parking lot receiving the most noise complaint, bought quieter vacuums, and planted bamboo to try to block out some of the noise.
But that doesn’t mean the company’s not upset with some measures residents have taken against their robotaxis. In one case, Waymo tried to get a restraining order against a resident who was particularly good at keeping the robotaxis from the charging lot. It’s been unsuccessful.
Images | Waymo
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