Based on Waymo having a better safety record, I did want to try it at least once, and did so a couple weekends ago. It was a fairly positive experience, but some things I noticed:
- When it arrived at my pickup point (the closest you could get to BART), two people came out, one of whom was live-TikToking it. They too were just trying it out.
- I realized for it to recognize me as the passenger, I needed to let the previous passengers close the door, then wait, then reopen the door.
- It really hugged the left of its lane, or even crossed the dotted line, when there was anything wider than a car to the right in the parking lane - bikes and moving vans, primarily.
- Once it started to change lanes, then changed back halfway through.
- Once it started to turn left when pedestrians were in the crosswalk; it stopped almost immediately, not coming near them, but enough for them to notice.
- The car was a Jaguar! Possibly the first time in my life I was in a Jaguar.
- They alerted me I was being recorded on video but not audio, to make sure I wasn't there for an assignation.
Niedermeyer, who wrote that good book about Tesla in 2019, wrote today that Waymo "burns >$2b/year so you don't have to worry that your single ride (which they price comparably to Ubers) is going to change the financial viability of their service one way other another... Their new Zeekr-made robotaxis drop either late this year or early next year, and that's when we will start to see if the business side of this can possibly make sense. Right now it's purely in the 'burning cash to prove it's possible' stage."
I went to San Francisco and couldn't find a single Waymo.
2: That's hard to believe. They're pretty ubiquitous. As of today, the service is available to anybody who downloads the app, no invite required.
It was a while ago when I was there. Before 9/11, but not by much.
I know it was before 9/11 because we carried on a fuckton of wine on the way back.
I shot a man in Waymo, just to let it drive.
Anyway, if robot taxis aren't going to meet me where I need them, why bother?