Waymo's Autonomous Vehicles Accumulate Over 600 Parking Tickets

Waymo's self-driving cars are experiencing challenges with parking regulations, having accrued more than 600 parking tickets in recent months. In 2024 alone, the company's fleet of approximately 300 autonomous vehicles operating in San Francisco received 589 parking citations, resulting in fines totaling $65,065. Reports indicate that San Francisco issued a staggering 1.2 million parking tickets, amounting to nearly $119 million for various parking violations, while in Los Angeles, Waymo's vehicles encountered 75 tickets totaling $543.

Local authorities are taking parking violations seriously, particularly in San Francisco, where the high volume of citations reflects the challenges posed by improperly parked vehicles. Misplaced autonomous cars can obstruct traffic flow, potentially leading to accidents. Unlike incidents involving collisions with other vehicles or pedestrians, which must be reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, parking violations are not required to be documented, although some accidents may also go unreported.

In response to these issues, Waymo has committed to improving its parking practices. According to a company spokesperson, all fines incurred will be addressed, and the vehicles are programmed to implement the safest parking measures available during passenger pick-up and drop-off. Most of the parking tickets were issued during these brief stops. The autonomous vehicles also consider how far passengers must walk to their final destinations, often opting to stop in busy areas if necessary. In some cases, the cars may temporarily park in commercial loading zones or briefly stop when not near Waymo facilities.

Finding safe parking in a congested urban environment poses challenges for both human drivers and autonomous vehicles, which must still learn the social norms of the road. Waymo is actively working on enhancing its vehicles' capabilities to comply with parking regulations, as the company has no interest in having its cars violate these rules.

Currently, local law enforcement treats parking violations committed by autonomous vehicles in the same manner as those committed by conventional cars. Although traffic violations typically cannot be assigned to autonomous vehicles--since citations are issued to drivers--a new law passed in 2024 allows police to issue 'notices of non-compliance for autonomous vehicles' starting in July 2026. However, parking rules apply equally to both autonomous and human-operated vehicles.