Suspect Uses Waymo Self-Driving Taxi as Getaway Car After San Francisco Burglary

There are crime stories that feel familiar, and there are ones that make you double-check the year. This is very much the second type.

Police in San Francisco say a burglar used a self-driving taxi as the getaway car after raiding a yoga studio in the city’s Marina district.

According to reports, the suspect spent under three minutes inside Hot 8 Yoga, stole men’s activewear, and calmly loaded it into the boot of the waiting Waymo robotaxi before riding off.

No driver. No awkward small talk. Just a quiet autonomous exit from the scene.
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Waymo has been available to everyone in San Francisco for the past two years, running a fleet of driverless Jaguar I-PACE vehicles, with newer models like the Ojai recently added to the line-up. And there are many taking advantage – including opportunistic thieves.

But Waymo vehicles are packed with 29 high-definition cameras, 360-degree sensors and account-based booking systems, so why hasn’t an arrest been made?

Police reportedly obtained a warrant for the account data and footage, but say the information didn’t lead to a suspect – hinting that a burner phone or stolen identity data may have been used to book the ride. By that point, interior footage had already been purged, and Waymo company policy blurs faces captured outside the vehicle for privacy reasons.
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A detective involved in the case said he expected the technology to make things easier – not harder.

Waymo responded by saying that it reviews all law enforcement requests carefully and does not use facial recognition to identify individuals.

Footage was also obtained from the yoga studio, which showed the suspect wearing a light-coloured sweatshirt, but his face was not visible.

The case is similar to another incident earlier this year in Los Angeles, where a suspect robbed a grocery store and escaped in a self-driving taxi, but the vehicle pulled over in response to the sirens when police gave chase.

It was announced earlier this year that Waymo expects to start operating in the UK – from as early as September. The plan is to launch the service in London, but an exact date has not yet been specified.

waymo.com