Self-Driving Taxi Gets Confused, Drives Passenger In Circles Around Parking Lot

Waymo is doing damage control after one of its self-driving taxis made yet another questionable choice on the road. A man from Los Angeles was attempting to fly home when the Waymo he'd ordered drove in circles around an airport parking lot, nearly causing him to miss his flight. The experience has reportedly drained him of his faith in Waymo's autonomous vehicle service.

Mike Johns told CBS News that he was leaving Scottsdale, Arizona last month when he summoned one of Alphabet, Inc.'s self-driving Jaguars. Hundreds of Waymo vehicles crawl the Phoenix metropolitan area each day, covering roughly 225 square miles of service area and providing 24-hour airport pickups and dropoffs. Johns had hoped to take advantage of one of those dropoffs on his way back to LA, but when his Waymo reached the airport, it entered a random parking lot and began to drive in circles ...