April 26, 2026
Stay in your lane, robot
Waymo says expecting driverless taxis to stay out of bike lanes is unrealistic
Waymo says robots can’t always avoid bike lanes — cyclists rage, commenters yell “fine them”
TLDR: Waymo says its driverless taxis can’t always avoid bike lanes because people want curbside pickups, sparking outrage over safety and legality. Commenters are split between demanding automatic fines, arguing cyclists break rules too, and insisting robots should exceed human standards as London trials loom.
Waymo reportedly told cycling advocates that keeping robo‑taxis out of bike lanes is “too high a bar” because passengers want curbside drop‑offs — and the internet immediately hit the horn. Cyclists are fuming, pointing to a San Francisco lawsuit where a rider says she was “doored” after a Waymo stopped in a bike lane and its safety alert feature didn’t warn the passenger. “Better than humans? Prove it,” say critics, arguing robots shouldn’t normalize behavior that’s illegal under the UK’s Highway Code and controversial in US cities. One link to Streetsblog NYC set the tone: these cars are literally programmed to pull into bike lanes for pick‑ups. Cue chaos. The comments split fast: one camp wants automatic fines using the cars’ own footage (“receipts or tickets”), while another throws shade at cyclists, claiming they don’t follow rules either. The nuance crowd chimes in with “in some situations” you share or cross bike lanes to turn — but that didn’t stop the meme brigade unleashing “Stay in your lane, robot” and “Robocab, curb me not.” With Waymo testing in London ahead of possible 2026 green lights, commenters are asking: are we building safer streets, or just codifying bad habits for convenience?
Key Points
- •Advocates report Waymo’s driverless taxis are programmed to pull into bike lanes for pick-ups and drop-offs, described as avoiding bike lanes being “too high a bar.”
- •UK Highway Code prohibits driving/parking in solid-line cycle lanes and discourages blocking broken-line lanes except when unavoidable.
- •A San Francisco cyclist sued Waymo and Alphabet after a “dooring” incident from a Waymo vehicle parked in a bike lane, alleging the Safe Exit system failed.
- •Waymo has begun AI-controlled trials in London with a safety driver, aiming for a fully autonomous passenger service later in 2026 pending government approval.
- •Waymo received California DMV approval in 2019 to carry passengers without a safety driver and operates in multiple U.S. cities, with testing in NYC.