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this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2026
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Technology
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sounds like they needed to call a tow truck....
That costs money. Whereas we, as taxpayers, pay for emergency services...
ohh no no. When Police call a tow truck, the tow company comes, takes the vehicle off to a lot and the owner has to come to collect it, generally with cash.
I'm not saying just do it maliciously, but if they're asked to drive the car off, they should just block it and call a tow company.
Waymo pays for that toe and an outlandish amount of daily fees until they pick it up.
To them, it's no big deal, a few hundred dollars.
but compound that with the car being out of service for a few days. hiring someone, or flying someone in to unlock it... easy peasy
I was going to suggest charging the company an exorbitant fee for each incident but your idea is better.
win-win, tow companies fill their lots with waymo, people from waymo need to come get the car, pay hundreds in cash (because all those places are cash only) there's no room in the lot for normal tows.
The passengers should get free rides for a year.
What do you mean they're cash only? I've paid by card (credit card even) to have my car towed when it just died while sitting in traffic, and again when I needed to move a tool box. What in the world?
We're not talking about calling a tow service to help you out. We're talking about calling a tow service for improperly or illegally parked cars.
They operate under a completely different set of rules, where they're very concerned about chargebacks.
The ones in my metro area only take cash, You're not even allowed to get your wallet out of the car.
They also have ATM's in their lobbies and they charge $6 to make a withdrawal.
You weren't paying to get your car back. Different kind of towing.
In plenty of places (in the US) it's the exact same companies doing both. Mack Towing is a pretty good example. The police where I live use them to tow vehicles that are illegal parked or considered abandoned. Those places charge a fee ($400 per day) to the person who owns the vehicle and the fee must be paid before the vehicle will be returned to the customer. They really don't only deal in cash (although I can understand why they might not take credit card payments in this eventuality because of the risk of a chargeback).
A robotow.
I'll see myself out.
Thank you very much, Mr. Robotow
I'll follow you out
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