Waymo Drives Away with Passenger's Luggage at San Jose Airport
Original: San Jose passenger claims a Waymo drove off with his luggage at the airport | A man says the Waymo he rode to San Jose Mineta Airport drove away with his luggage in the trunk
Why This Matters
Highlights operational challenges for autonomous vehicle services handling passenger luggage
A South Bay man claims his Waymo driverless taxi drove off with his luggage still in the trunk after dropping him at San Jose Mineta Airport. The trunk button failed to work when he tried to retrieve his bags.
Di Jin took his first Waymo ride from Sunnyvale to San Jose airport for a business trip on Monday. After arriving, Jin pressed the trunk open button to retrieve his luggage but it didn't work and the car drove away immediately. Waymo customer service told him the vehicle was already heading to the depot and couldn't be turned around. Jin flew to San Diego without his suitcase, clothes, or work notes. Waymo later emailed that his luggage was secured at their San Francisco depot but wouldn't cover shipping costs. They offered two free rides for him to make the 2-hour round trip to retrieve his items. Jin called both options unfair since it wasn't his mistake. Waymo's website states trunks should automatically open when passengers exit, but Jin's didn't function properly.