Waymo is asking DoorDash drivers to shut the doors of its self-driving cars

It still feels like a technological marvel: Waymo’s autonomous cars are now carrying passengers across six cities. But this driverless future comes with a new kind of headache. These vehicles can be rendered immobile if a passenger accidentally leaves a door open.

A Reddit post described how a DoorDash driver encountered this issue after a strange request appeared in their delivery queue. Instead of picking up food, the driver was offered $6.25 to drive less than a mile to a Waymo vehicle and close its door. After “verified completion,” the driver would receive an additional $5.

“You actually ‘door’ dashed,” one commenter wrote.

The situation sounds almost too perfect and too ironic to be real. Waymo vehicles are positioned as major technological breakthroughs that once seemed impossible. The Alphabet-owned company recently raised $16 billion to expand its driverless-car operations internationally.

But both Waymo and DoorDash confirmed that the Reddit post is real, and that the companies are addressing it. an operational issue

“Waymo is currently running a pilot program in Atlanta to enhance its AV fleet efficiency. In the rare event a vehicle door is left ajar, preventing the car from departing, nearby Dashers are notified, allowing Waymo to get its vehicles back on the road quickly,” Waymo and DoorDash said in a joint response. The companies added that this door-closing arrangement, which began earlier this year, is only one part of a broader partnership. In October, Waymo and DoorDash launched an autonomous delivery program in Phoenix, where Waymo vehicles deliver food and groceries to DoorDash customers.

For Waymo, paying someone to close a door can be a practical decision. If the door remains open, the car cannot continue providing rides. At the same time, it sits immobile—an unmoving vehicle can disrupt traffic, especially if it is stuck in an inconvenient location.

This is not the first time Waymo has turned to outside help for door-related problems. In Los Angeles, the company has worked with Honk, a service that functions like Uber for towing and roadside assistance. Reports indicate that Honk users in Los Angeles have been offered as much as $24 to close a Waymo door, more than double what DoorDash drivers are being offered in Atlanta.

Waymo has said its future vehicles will include automated door-closing capabilities. For now, though, gig workers are the company’s most reliable solution.