A Waymo autonomous taxi outside the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Waymo’s cars are driven without humans. But when a departing passenger leaves a door open, the car won’t move until a person closes it.
For that task, Waymo is turning to gig workers from companies like DoorDash.
The Alphabet-owned self-driving car company confirmed on Thursday that it’s running a pilot in Atlanta to compensate delivery drivers for closing Waymo doors that are left ajar. DoorDash drivers are notified when a Waymo in the area has an open door so the vehicles can quickly get back on the road, the company said.
That acknowledgement came after a Reddit post showed a DoorDash driver in Atlanta was offered $11.25 to close the door of a nearby Waymo.
Waymo and DoorDash said in a joint statement to CNBC that they are always looking for new and flexible ways for DoorDash deliverers to earn money, adding that future Waymo vehicles will have automated door closures. Waymo didn’t say when that capability will arrive.
Waymo’s reliance on people for simple tasks underscores how even the most advanced autonomous technologies still require costly human intervention for some basic operations. Valued at $126 billion in a recent financing round, Waymo is central to Alphabet’s Other Bets, which are targeted at “using technology to try to solve big problems that affect a wide variety of industries, including transportation and health technology,” according to the company’s financial filings.
In Alphabet’s annual filing last week, the company said the Other Bets segment recorded an operating loss last year of $7.5 billion, which included a $2.1 billion stock-based compensation charge at Waymo.
In addition to DoorDash, Waymo is also paying users of Honk, an independent roadside assistance company, to close robotaxi doors. A recent Washington Post report said Honk users, who get paid to provide maintenance on Waymo vehicles, were offered up to $24 in Los Angeles for closing a door.
On Thursday, Waymo began deploying its next-generation robotaxi as the company pushes to extend its lead in the U.S. Waymo currently offers its fully autonomous robotaxi service in six U.S. markets, with plans to expand to several more this year.
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