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I was very bummed on a recent trip to SF to find there was a waitlist for Waymo and I couldn't use the service! But I've since been 'accepted' so my next West C

I was very bummed on a recent trip to SF to find there was a waitlist for Waymo and I couldn't use the service! But I've since been 'accepted' so my next West Coast trip I'll definitely be taking a driverless car. I was a long time SF resident so I'll use my local knowledge to choose the most ratchet route possible. The potential for self-driving cars to bring down the cost of rides is very exciting to me. I've been carless for decades and though I'm a huge proponent and user of mass transit, we have to be realistic. Most of this country is exceptionally ill-suited to mass transit and is custom-built for car traffic.

fragmede 3y ago
I don't know about bringing down costs. The amount of money that's been invested in this wants to get paid back, so they're gonna be charging as money they can for this to be worth it.
- standardUser 3y ago
  As long as there is competition the prices will be low (eventually). Labor is almost always the most expensive part of any service and these technologies reduce the need for labor considerably.
  - hypothesis 3y ago
    > As long as there is competition the prices will be low (eventually). We don’t have to wait here. Is BigCo lowering prices on YouTube subs? Are they lowering ad spend for people? You could claim that they’re a monopoly in those cases, but then that would undercut your expectations above.
  - GeneralMayhem 3y ago
    That's only true if there's competition with similar costs, though. Uber and Lyft can't reduce prices without collapsing, so Waymo has no incentive to charge anything less than what they charge minus one cent and they'll have all the demand they can handle.
    - standardUser 3y ago
      I am assuming this technology will not be hoarded by a single company indefinitely.
- alphabetting 3y ago
  If apple spent 10B on their car, I wouldn't be surprised if Waymo spent 50 or 100 over 15 years and they invented the modern robotaxi. I think they've earned the ability to charge whatever they like. I'd also happily pay more than Uber rides whenever it comes to my area. Riding a couple in Arizona was amazing.
  - standardUser 3y ago
    > I think they've earned the ability to charge whatever they like. They can charge what people will pay, not whatever they want.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > amount of money that's been invested in this wants to get paid back, so they're gonna be charging as money they can As they should be. They’re currently competing with Uber and Lyft, and charging a novelty/quality premium. There will be a halcyon period as they scale and print money, but others will notice and start fighting that monopoly.
  - huytersd 3y ago
    If I’ve learnt anything over the last 10 years it’s that self driving is hard and Google has a huge moat with how good Waymo already is.
hamandcheese 3y ago
For now, Waymo in SF costs significantly higher than Uber. I just checked and was quoted double - $25 to go from the outer richmond to Japantown.
- tobinfricke 3y ago
  Hmm, in my (limited) experience, I've seen Waymo being within +/- $1-2 of Uber.
  - raylad 3y ago
    From my not-so-limited experience, it's often double.
    - zoba 3y ago
      I also see 2x prices for Waymo.
  - hamandcheese 3y ago
    This is what I'm more accustomed too, in this particular instance though there was a 25 minute wait. I'm guessing the rain right now might be increasing demand for rides.
    - tobinfricke 3y ago
      Yes, Waymo often has a much longer wait time (fewer cars). But then the Uber drivers often cancel. So maybe it comes out in the wash.
- silentsea90 3y ago
  It is still a fun novelty mode of ride with limited supply and is priced accordingly and is not a mass transport option yet. Once the supply of cars rises the prices will fall to establish a new equilibrium hopefully much lower than Uber.
  - 3y ago

fragmede 3y ago

I don't know about bringing down costs. The amount of money that's been invested in this wants to get paid back, so they're gonna be charging as money they can for this to be worth it.

standardUser 3y ago
As long as there is competition the prices will be low (eventually). Labor is almost always the most expensive part of any service and these technologies reduce the need for labor considerably.
- hypothesis 3y ago
  > As long as there is competition the prices will be low (eventually). We don’t have to wait here. Is BigCo lowering prices on YouTube subs? Are they lowering ad spend for people? You could claim that they’re a monopoly in those cases, but then that would undercut your expectations above.
- GeneralMayhem 3y ago
  That's only true if there's competition with similar costs, though. Uber and Lyft can't reduce prices without collapsing, so Waymo has no incentive to charge anything less than what they charge minus one cent and they'll have all the demand they can handle.
  - standardUser 3y ago
    I am assuming this technology will not be hoarded by a single company indefinitely.
alphabetting 3y ago
If apple spent 10B on their car, I wouldn't be surprised if Waymo spent 50 or 100 over 15 years and they invented the modern robotaxi. I think they've earned the ability to charge whatever they like. I'd also happily pay more than Uber rides whenever it comes to my area. Riding a couple in Arizona was amazing.
- standardUser 3y ago
  > I think they've earned the ability to charge whatever they like. They can charge what people will pay, not whatever they want.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> amount of money that's been invested in this wants to get paid back, so they're gonna be charging as money they can As they should be. They’re currently competing with Uber and Lyft, and charging a novelty/quality premium. There will be a halcyon period as they scale and print money, but others will notice and start fighting that monopoly.
- huytersd 3y ago
  If I’ve learnt anything over the last 10 years it’s that self driving is hard and Google has a huge moat with how good Waymo already is.

hamandcheese 3y ago

For now, Waymo in SF costs significantly higher than Uber. I just checked and was quoted double - $25 to go from the outer richmond to Japantown.

tobinfricke 3y ago
Hmm, in my (limited) experience, I've seen Waymo being within +/- $1-2 of Uber.
- raylad 3y ago
  From my not-so-limited experience, it's often double.
  - zoba 3y ago
    I also see 2x prices for Waymo.
- hamandcheese 3y ago
  This is what I'm more accustomed too, in this particular instance though there was a 25 minute wait. I'm guessing the rain right now might be increasing demand for rides.
  - tobinfricke 3y ago
    Yes, Waymo often has a much longer wait time (fewer cars). But then the Uber drivers often cancel. So maybe it comes out in the wash.
silentsea90 3y ago
It is still a fun novelty mode of ride with limited supply and is priced accordingly and is not a mass transport option yet. Once the supply of cars rises the prices will fall to establish a new equilibrium hopefully much lower than Uber.
- 3y ago