Waymo Robotaxi Leaves Passenger Stranded at Airport Without Luggage, Company Later Covers Shipping Costs

In late April, Di Jin took his first ride in a Waymo robotaxi, traveling from Sunnyvale to San Jose Mineta Airport in a self-driving Jaguar I-Pace. The trip proceeded without incident—until Jin attempted to retrieve his luggage.

When he exited the vehicle and pressed the trunk release button, nothing happened. Moments later, the robotaxi drove off, leaving Jin’s luggage behind.

Speaking with NBC, Jin said he immediately contacted Waymo customer service. He was informed that the vehicle was en route to a depot and could not be redirected. With no luggage and no time to spare, Jin boarded his flight without his belongings.

Later that day, Jin learned that Waymo had retrieved his luggage at the depot in San Francisco. However, the company initially refused to cover shipping costs to return it to him. Instead, Waymo offered two free rides to and from the depot for Jin to retrieve his luggage himself.

Waymo ultimately relented, confirming it would pay to deliver his luggage after all.

Why the Luggage Was Left Behind

Waymo notes that riders can open the trunk of its vehicles in two ways:

• Pressing the physical trunk release button on the outside of the vehicle.
• Tapping the ‘open trunk’ button in the Waymo app.

For Jin, the trunk release button failed to work. With no human driver to intervene, he had no way to immediately notify the vehicle of the issue. The incident highlights a key limitation of robotaxis compared to human-driven taxis.

“Taking a trip in one of Waymo’s robotaxis should be a smooth and stress-free experience, particularly since there’s no pressure to have an awkward conversation with a driver. However, for one Waymo user in California, taking a robotaxi to the airport left him without luggage for a business trip.”