It was a little over two weeks ago that Sophia Tung began waking up before dawn to the sound of cars honking.
As a San Francisco resident, Ms. Tung, 28, has seen traffic, but this time there were no drivers to yell at to stop.
“I tend to like to be good humored on most difficult situations,” Ms. Tung said.
Since Waymo’s driverless taxi service took to the San Francisco streets last year, there have been a few bumps in the road.
For the few years she’s lived in her San Francisco apartment, the parking lot has been used mostly for nearby businesses, she said.
Sophia Tung started waking up early to the sound of cars honking a little more than two weeks ago.
One by one, the parking lot filled with flocks of identical white cars from outside her window. A chorus of honks and beeps accompanied their movements as they crossed and recrossed each other’s paths.
Ms. Tung, 28, lives in San Francisco, and while she has seen traffic before, there were no cars to yell at to stop.
Ms. Using an outdated webcam and a cereal box, Tung made the decision to create a livestream in order to show the world the noisy taxi depot. Soft lo-fi music was playing in the background of the video.
Ms. Tung stated, “I usually like to be well-humored in the most trying situations.”. “People seem to enjoy watching them, but it was only for the memes.”. “.
From just two viewers at first, the stream grew to hundreds, peaking on Monday night at about 350. People enjoyed speculating in the stream’s chat about where the cars would ultimately park, essentially “dibsing” on available spaces, according to Ms. Tung.
Then, on Tuesday morning, according to Ms. Tung, Waymo herself hopped into the chat to inform her that the issue with honking had been resolved.
Mrs. In her online grievances, Tung was not by herself. The building next to Ms. Tung’s and her neighbors have also uploaded videos of the cars honking all night and early in the morning.
Russell Pofsky, a resident of the building for twenty years, reported that he had never experienced the frequency of nighttime awakenings that he has experienced in the past two weeks.
Dear Mr. According to Pofsky, there is a continuous honking sound that occurs approximately every four seconds. Tuesday dawned with the honking beginning at approximately five in the morning. M.
When the honking began, he claimed he lay awake, “in disbelief of what is actually happening.”. “.
Ms. According to Tung, a lot of the noise was made around two in the morning. M. approximately 4:30 a.m., when the cars departed. me. after they got back.
She remarked, “I guess that’s kind of like a peak downtime.”. But it’s also when I sleep the best, you know. “.
In an email statement, a Waymo representative stated that the company had just added the honking feature to help prevent collisions when cars approached too closely.
“Though we didn’t quite anticipate it happening so often in our own parking lots, it has been working great in the city. Our electric vehicles should no longer be as noisy for our neighbors going forward because we updated the software, according to the statement.
There have been some hiccups since Waymo’s driverless taxi service began operating on San Francisco streets last year. Critics in certain cities have expressed concerns about the cars’ safety. Less serious mistakes like driving into wet concrete are occasionally made by the cars.
However, Ms. Tung stated that she supported the Waymo fleet and that all she wanted was for the honking to cease. She claimed that during the brief time she has lived in her San Francisco apartment, surrounding businesses have primarily used the parking lot.
