Credit: Waymo

Autonomous vehicles have a lot of potential. As long as you program them right, they won’t speed, won’t break traffic laws, and won’t get drunk, high, abusive, or violent. And the technology has been getting much more capable, even as some of the hype has died down, taking some of the related companies with it. Waymo still easily leads the field and is already operating commercially in six cities across America, with a dozen more (plus London) coming soon. Waymos can even drop you off and pick you up at the airport in Phoenix and San Francisco.

Soon, Waymo will begin deploying its sixth-generation Waymo Driver, using upfitted Zeekr Ojai minivans, adding to the Jaguar I-Paces that have become so common on San Francisco streets and to its fleet of Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicles. It has upgraded the cameras, lidar, and radar, meaning the cars can better sense their environments at night and in inclement weather. There are even microphones that can pick up sounds like sirens to better inform the robotaxi of the direction the emergency vehicle(s) are coming from.

But even with all these advances since the pod-like two-seater that predates even the Waymo name, there are still a few things that remain beyond a robotaxi’s capabilities. Like closing a door a passenger left open on their way out. All the sophisticated sensors and high-powered computer processing in the world are useless if the car can’t move until the door closes and there’s no one there to give it a hand.

That’s why Waymo has turned to (the appropriately named) DoorDash to help solve the problem. Earlier this week, a DoorDasher posted on Reddit showing an offer to close a nearby Waymo door for $11.25, asking if others had received similar offers.

Waymo showed off Zeekr-based Ojai at CES in 2026. It uses the company’s 6th-generation driver.
Credit: Waymo

Waymo and DoorDash told Bloomberg that they’ve been working on this pilot for a few weeks now. “In the rare event a vehicle door is left ajar, preventing the car from departing, nearby Dashers are notified, allowing Waymo to get its vehicles back on the road quickly,” the two companies told the publication.

It looks like the robots won’t replace all the humans just yet, at least where the Waymo I-Pace and Ioniq 5 robotaxis are concerned. As the new Waymo Ojai starts entering service, its traditional minivan sliding doors are much easier to motorize and automate. Drivers in Los Angeles and San Francisco can expect to start seeing them on the road soon as Waymo begins testing them with employee rides in those two cities.