Waymo Is Asking DoorDash Drivers To Shut The Doors Of Its Self-Driving Cars

Waymo DoorDash Drivers Fix Self-Driving Car Quirk

Why is Waymo paying DoorDash drivers to close car doors? Because a single ajar door can completely immobilize an autonomous vehicle. In Atlanta, the self-driving pioneer has launched a pilot program enlisting nearby delivery drivers to perform this simple task for $6.25 per trip—plus a $5 completion bonus. While it sounds almost satirical, both companies confirm the arrangement is very real, highlighting an unexpected vulnerability in today's driverless technology.

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This isn't a software glitch or sensor failure. It's a deliberate safety feature: Waymo vehicles won't move with doors open to prevent accidents. But when passengers—especially those unfamiliar with autonomous ride-hailing—exit without fully closing doors, the car becomes stranded. Without a human driver onboard to notice and correct the issue, Waymo needs an external solution to keep its fleet operational.

How the Door-Closing Program Actually Works

The process begins when Waymo's remote monitoring system detects a vehicle hasn't departed its pickup or drop-off location within an expected timeframe. Algorithms then cross-reference door sensor data. If a door registers as partially open, the system triggers an alert.

Rather than dispatching a dedicated Waymo fleet attendant—which could take 20 minutes or more in dense urban areas—the company taps into DoorDash's existing network of drivers already moving through neighborhoods. A task appears in the DoorDash app not as a food delivery, but as a "vehicle assistance" request. Drivers accept the micro-task, navigate to the stranded Waymo vehicle, close the door until they hear the definitive click, and upload photo verification. Payment processes instantly upon approval.

The entire interaction typically takes under five minutes. For DoorDash drivers seeking to maximize earnings during slow periods, these tasks offer reliable supplemental income without the complexity of traditional deliveries. For Waymo, the $11.25 payout represents a fraction of the cost associated with a stranded vehicle blocking traffic or missing multiple paid rides.

Why an Open Door Paralyzes Autonomous Vehicles

Unlike human-driven cars, where a driver might notice a door light on the dashboard or hear wind noise while driving, autonomous vehicles operate under stricter safety protocols. Waymo's system performs comprehensive pre-departure checks before every trip. Door status is non-negotiable—if sensors detect even a 2-inch gap, the vehicle's motion control system remains locked.

This caution stems from legitimate safety concerns. An open door while moving could strike pedestrians, cyclists, or adjacent vehicles. At highway speeds, aerodynamic forces might rip a partially closed door from its hinges. Waymo's engineers designed this fail-safe deliberately, prioritizing safety over operational continuity.

The irony lies in the solution's simplicity. Closing a car door requires no technical expertise—just human presence. Yet this mundane action currently has no fully automated workaround. Robotic arms would add cost and complexity. Enhanced sensors might detect the issue but couldn't resolve it. Sometimes, the most efficient fix remains human hands.

Beyond Atlanta: A Pattern of Human Assistance

Atlanta isn't Waymo's only market relying on human intervention for door-related issues. In Los Angeles, the company partners with Honk, a roadside assistance platform, offering drivers up to $24 per door-closing task. The higher payout reflects Los Angeles' larger geographic spread and potentially longer response times.

These programs reveal a broader industry truth: today's "driverless" vehicles still operate within human-supported ecosystems. Waymo maintains remote assistance centers where human operators guide vehicles through complex construction zones or unusual traffic scenarios. Similarly, Cruise and Zoox deploy fleet response teams to handle vehicle recovery, software resets, and passenger assistance.

The door-closing initiatives represent a pragmatic middle ground—leveraging existing gig economy infrastructure rather than building dedicated response teams for rare but disruptive events. Industry analysts estimate door-related immobilizations occur in less than 0.3% of Waymo rides, but even that small percentage translates to dozens of stranded vehicles daily across six operational cities.

Waymo and DoorDash's Evolving Alliance

This door-closing pilot is just one thread in a deeper partnership between Waymo and DoorDash. Since October 2025, the companies have operated an autonomous delivery service in Phoenix, where Waymo vehicles transport restaurant orders and groceries to DoorDash customers without human drivers onboard. Early metrics show delivery times comparable to human-driven trips during off-peak hours, with significantly lower operational costs per mile.

The relationship benefits both parties strategically. DoorDash gains exposure to next-generation delivery infrastructure without capital investment in autonomous technology. Waymo accesses DoorDash's massive customer base and logistics expertise while gathering real-world data on goods transportation—a valuable complement to its passenger ride-hailing operations.

The door-assistance program emerged organically from this collaboration. Engineers noticed delivery drivers often arrived near immobilized vehicles during routine routes. Rather than viewing these encounters as coincidental, the teams designed a formalized handoff process that turns proximity into productivity.

What This Says About Autonomous Vehicle Maturity

Critics point to door-closing programs as evidence that autonomous vehicles aren't truly ready for unsupervised deployment. But industry experts frame these human-in-the-loop solutions differently—not as failures, but as intelligent system design.

"No complex system operates with 100% autonomy from day one," explains Dr. Lena Chen, an autonomous systems researcher at Georgia Tech who isn't affiliated with Waymo. "Commercial aviation still requires human pilots despite decades of autopilot advancement. What matters is designing graceful degradation paths—ways for systems to maintain functionality when edge cases occur."

Waymo's approach demonstrates this philosophy in action. Instead of halting operations until perfect door-closure detection exists (which may require redesigning door latches across thousands of vehicles), the company implemented a low-cost, high-reliability workaround. The solution preserves safety standards while maintaining fleet availability—a critical metric for commercial viability.

The Road Ahead for Autonomous Fleets

Waymo has indicated this door-assistance program is temporary. The company's next-generation vehicles, currently undergoing testing, feature redesigned door mechanisms with stronger closing resistance and redundant sensor verification. Software updates rolling out in Q2 2026 will also enable vehicles to gently rock forward and backward—a motion that often jostles partially open doors into fully closed positions without human intervention.

Still, experts caution against expecting fully independent operation anytime soon. Weather events, unexpected road debris, passenger behavior variations, and municipal infrastructure inconsistencies will continue creating scenarios where human assistance provides the most efficient resolution. The goal isn't eliminating human involvement entirely, but minimizing its frequency and cost while maximizing safety.

For now, the image of a DoorDash driver closing a robotaxi's door captures autonomous technology's current reality: revolutionary yet imperfect, sophisticated yet occasionally dependent on simple human actions. It's a reminder that the path to driverless transportation isn't a sudden leap—it's a gradual handoff, with humans stepping back incrementally as machines prove their reliability in increasingly complex situations.

As Waymo expands to additional cities throughout 2026 and prepares its international launch following a recent $16 billion funding round, these micro-collaborations with gig platforms may become standard practice across the autonomous vehicle industry. The future of transportation won't be purely human or purely machine—it will be a carefully choreographed partnership where each handles what it does best. And sometimes, that means paying $11.25 for a 10-second task that keeps the entire system moving forward.