arstechnica.com·Feb 13, 2026
Waymo is piloting a program in Atlanta with DoorDash to address the issue of robotaxi doors left open by passengers, offering nearby Dashers a payment to close the doors, while future Waymo vehicles will feature automated door closures.
Waymo is addressing a notable operational challenge—left-open doors in their robotaxi fleet—by piloting a program with DoorDash in Atlanta. This innovative solution involves notifying nearby DoorDash drivers to close the doors, ensuring the vehicles can quickly resume service. This highlights the importance of solving logistical issues in autonomous operations and suggests potential opportunities for partnerships with local service providers to handle unforeseen issues in autonomous vehicle deployment.