Waymo cars were spotted on residential streets in north Houston for days

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Waymo’s self-driving taxis have been raising eyebrows weeks after the company announced they were coming to Houston.

Several people have been spotted idling on residential streets in north Houston for days.

Eyewitness News spotted one on Moody Street Monday afternoon.

Mary Lewis said she first noticed him on Dec. 11, but has never seen him driving.

“I just want to know why they’re parked here,” she said.

Lewis said the car sat on Moody Street for five days before disappearing.

“I was really relieved, I mean there are kids living in the neighborhood, it’s just weird that it’s there all the time,” she said.

But then she said the car came back a week later.

Eyewitness News spotted another car parked on Wynne Street, less than a mile away.

Up close you can hear the electric motors of both cars humming. Roof-mounted sensors run continuously.

“I just want to know why they do it,” Lewis said.

Eyewitness News contacted Waymo, who responded with the following statement:

“Waymo vehicles use publicly available parking spaces between trips when necessary. We do this because driving around without passengers would unnecessarily cause traffic congestion and inefficient use of the vehicle.”

Not all neighbors are bothered by the stationary vehicles.

“If it makes others feel better, I wouldn’t have a problem parking in front of my house,” Esmeralda Sifuentes said.

But Lewis wonders why he has to park in front of someone’s house.

“Waymo is big enough that we can buy a lot, there’s a lot for sale here or whatever,” Lewis said.

A city ordinance prohibits vehicles from being left in the same spot on a public street for more than 24 hours, and violations are punishable by a $30 fine.

Eyewitness News asked the city if it had had any problems with Waymo vehicles violating the ordinance, but the city has not yet responded.

Waymo said its rides are currently only available to Waymo employees, but plans to offer them to the public sometime early next year.

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