Stacking The Future: Santa Monica Residents Fight Back Against Noisy Robotaxi

 

It’s just before midnight in Santa Monica, and a masked man in overalls quietly approaches a driverless taxi in a back alley, duct tape in hand. His goal? To disable the vehicle’s sensors.

“We just want the Waymos to stop beeping at night,” he says. “They’re really disturbing us. They’re disturbing our neighbors.”

He’s one of a group that calls themselves “stackers,” residents who block access to two Waymo charging lots near downtown Santa Monica. By forcing the autonomous vehicles to line up in the alley, the stackers prevent them from entering the facilities, which opened in January with no public notification.

“We’re just running some routine experiments to see what it takes to properly stack a Waymo,” one protester remarks. “We’ll try lasering the next one.”

Waymo, owned by Alphabet (Google’s parent company), has about 300 driverless robotaxis operating throughout Los Angeles County. While the service has become popular with passengers, some residents near the charging facilities say the constant honking, flashing lights, and backup beeping — along with the noise from human attendants who vacuum and recharge the cars — have made nighttime unbearable.

“They opened the lots without warning, and all of us stopped sleeping,” says the original protester, who goes by “Stacker One.” “Beep, beep, beep all night long. I hear phantom beeps during the day now.”

Waymo attempted to secure a restraining order against Stacker One — unsuccessfully. In response to noise complaints, the company says it’s purchased quieter vacuums, restricted alley speed limits to 10 mph, reduced late-night lot activity, and even planted bamboo to dampen noise.

“We strive to be good neighbors,” a Waymo spokesperson said. “We’re actively working with the city’s Department of Transportation to address concerns.” Still, the beeping continues, and the lots remain operational.

Longtime resident Nancy Taylor, who lives nearby, likens the scene to “a Las Vegas light show” and now sleeps behind blackout curtains with a white noise machine. “It’s gotten worse, not better,” she says.

Regulating the Robots

The robotaxi issue in Santa Monica highlights the broader challenge of regulating emerging technologies. Who’s responsible when innovation collides with daily life?

According to the City of Santa Monica, local officials have no jurisdiction over Waymo’s operations. The California Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Motor Vehicles oversee autonomous vehicles, though the CPUC focuses solely on passenger safety, and the DMV defers operational concerns back to the company and local law enforcement.

Federal law requires all electric autonomous vehicles to emit a sound while backing up — a rule originally created for the safety of pedestrians around silent electric trucks. But residents argue that AI-driven cars don’t need the same warnings as human-driven ones. “They can see perfectly well in reverse,” said one frustrated neighbor. “They’re not turning their heads.”

Meanwhile, outdated traffic laws persist. In New York, for example, drivers are still required to keep one hand on the wheel — a physical impossibility for an algorithm.

In Santa Monica, even police face limitations. A parking officer recently issued tickets to several gridlocked Waymo vehicles for being unattended in an alleyway. Ironically, if human drivers had been inside, the cars wouldn’t have been ticketed. And under current California law, driverless cars cannot be issued traffic citations.

A bill under consideration by state lawmakers would allow fines and points to be assessed to autonomous vehicles, just like human drivers. But critics question whether a $300 ticket has any meaningful effect on a multibillion-dollar corporation.

A Community Pushed Aside

Grayson Small, a local musician, watches nervously as a Waymo rolls through a stop sign near his home. “It didn’t stop at all. It’s rolling,” he says, concerned about safety in pedestrian-heavy alleys.

Public input has been minimal. “I asked to speak at a city council meeting,” says Nancy Taylor. “They told me Waymo has a waiver. No meeting.” Residents say they reached out to multiple city departments before resorting to protest.

Hamid Ekbia, director of the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute at Syracuse University, says the issue goes beyond noise or parking violations. “This is the tip of the iceberg,” he warns. “People can protest Waymos because they’re visible. But other AI systems will have hidden impacts. We need public oversight before it’s too late.”

Stacker One agrees. “Government should work for people — not for corporations or their machines.”

And while many appreciate the potential of technological progress, they question the cost. “Innovation is great,” says Small. “But if it comes at the expense of human happiness and peace of mind — what’s the point?”