Waymo’s fleet of autonomous taxis recorded 8,309 parking violations in San Francisco between January 2025 and mid-July 2026, according to parking records obtained by Gazetteer. The fines totaled $957,008, a major increase compared with 2024, when the vehicles recorded only 589 violations worth $65,065.
The data indicates that Waymo recorded 4,178 violations during 2025, followed by another 4,131 violations during the first six and a half months of 2026. This pushed the rate above 100 violations per week, while the company began paying roughly the full value of its 2024 fines nearly every month.
Where Are the Violations Concentrated?
The most common violation was parking in spaces designated for buses or specific vehicles, with 2,038 violations. Other cases included parking in prohibited areas, obstructing traffic, double-parking, and blocking bicycle lanes.
A large share of the violations was also concentrated at a limited number of locations. The address at 85 North Point Street near Fisherman’s Wharf recorded 577 violations, while 150 Beach Street recorded 369 violations, and a section of Drumm Street in the Financial District reached 288 violations.
These figures alone do not prove that the vehicles cause accidents or pose a direct traffic safety risk. They do, however, point to a recurring problem in stopping and loading decisions, particularly in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic and insufficient legal curb space. The issue becomes more significant when the behavior is repeated at specific points rather than occurring as exceptional cases distributed randomly.
What Changes Operationally as the Fleet Expands?
The data links the increase in violations to the growth of Waymo’s operations in the city. The company currently operates more than 1,200 vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area and has received approval in California to expand its autonomous taxi service to 18 counties. In January 2026, it also began transporting passengers to and from San Francisco International Airport, where curbside areas are among the busiest and most complex environments.
Waymo said it pays the fines “like any other driver” and that it is working with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s SFMTA fleet program to address the problem. It added that the Waymo Driver system continues to learn from every mile and that the company is constantly working to improve performance.
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The greatest value of these figures is that they provide a practical measure of the operational quality of autonomous-driving services outside testing scenarios. A vehicle’s success in driving is not limited to avoiding collisions; it also includes choosing legal stopping locations and not disrupting road users. The article does not explain whether Waymo reduced its violation rate after these locations were identified or what technical and operational measures it took, so the effectiveness of the improvement program remains an open question.