DoorDash drivers are getting paid to close Waymo car doors

Waymo’s fleet of robotaxis can drive passengers to various destinations without a human driver at the wheel. 

However, when it comes to closing the car door, Waymo’s self-driving cars apparently still need help from humans. And humans who do gig work on DoorDash can now get paid to close Waymo car doors.

On Reddit earlier this week, a Redditor in the subreddit community for DoorDash workers called r/DoorDash_Dasher shared a screenshot of an offer they just received in the DoorDash app. The gig was paying $11.25 to drive to a Waymo vehicle nine minutes away and close the car’s door.

Google’s parent company Alphabet, which owns Waymo, confirmed to CNBC that it was currently running a pilot program in Atlanta where the company pays DoorDash drivers to close doors that are left ajar on Waymo vehicles. According to the company, DoorDash drivers are notified when there is a Waymo car nearby that needs assistance closing the door so the vehicle can get back on the road.

Waymo says that in the future Waymo vehicles will have automatic closing doors, but did not provide a timeframe for when that will be rolled out.

For now, Atlanta-based gig workers can earn money by simply closing Waymo car doors that are left open by the previous rider. However, gig workers in L.A. who are looking to make the most money closing self-driving car doors should look at the roadside assistance app Honk. According to a previous Washington Post report, Honk workers who service Waymo vehicles there are paid up to $24, a whopping $12.75 more than DoorDash Dashers, to simply close a Waymo vehicle’s door.