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I'll be honest, I think they're just saying this so as not to spook anyone. But really I think they plan to build a massive, super convenient robot taxi service

I'll be honest, I think they're just saying this so as not to spook anyone. But really I think they plan to build a massive, super convenient robot taxi service across the country and by the time their self driving tech is "ready" for sale that service will be completely ubiquitous.

Hasu 2y ago
Does it matter if you "own" your car if it is part of the Waymo fleet, getting regular updates and communicating with the Waymo network like any other robotaxi in the fleet? You could even opt into having it give people rides while you're working or sleeping. And then Waymo can have you pay for the maintenance, insurance, and cleaning. It's like having Uber drivers who don't have to drive!
- dageshi 2y ago
  I think the key issue is that "owning" a car comes with a lot of expectations on behalf of existing customers. People are going to say that if they own it they should be able to mod it as they please, is that actually practical with a self driving car? What if they mod it in some way that makes it dangerous? Who's liable? There's a whole host of issues like this and most of them go away completely if you can't buy a self driving car but you can rent it per ride. Plus, if they do run it as a taxi service I think they can iterate everything from hardware, software and even infrastructure that supports it much faster than if they're selling it. I think google will be content to run a taxi service and let others sell self driving cars if and when they catch up because honestly it's a better business than outright selling cars.
conductr 2y ago
There is still some value in having a dedicated/always available option like car owners are used to. I live in a car centric city and maybe drive somewhere on average of 8 times a day (it's probably 4 on weekdays and maybe 20 on weekends). Uber is always near but still usually takes a minimum of 8-10 minutes and probably an averages ~12-15 minutes in my experience before I am entering the vehicle after summoning it. You can do the math and see that I would spend hours a day waiting in current world. If every vehicle was a Waymo then sure they'd always have one on my block at the ready, in theory. But in reality, a business will eventually seek to maximize efficiency and this will lead to a sucky UX. People also use vehicles as cargo carriages, not simply human transport devices. I know I don't always immediately unload my vehicle when I transport things, sometimes it gets stored there. Sometimes the load time and the unload time don't even make sense to do back to back. Sometimes I load something knowing I will unload it next week. Some things I just carry around with me on the off chance I might need them while out and about. Anyway, there's a lot of nuance to this type of change and why owning a car might still make sense for a lot of people.
- jeffbee 2y ago
  You get in and out of your car 20 times a day on Saturdays? What hell is that?
  - conductr 2y ago
    Probably. I’m guessing. But it equates to 10 destinations. 3-4 are kid activities sports/birthdays/play dates (we only have 1 kid but he’s a busy guy!) 2 weekly dog grooming appointment (doodle!) have to drop her off then pick her up later, so it’s counts as 2 2 we eat out twice on Saturday and once Sunday Rest are other social, family visits, or hobby activities along with a plethora of random errands; groceries, home center, and a long tail of specialty stores that are individually irregular but always a few every weekend (pool supplies, makeup for my wife, post office/UPS, etc.) We shop online so mostly avoid malls and department stores unless it’s more of a boutique thing or something we want to see before buying. We don’t do food delivery or groceries unless it’s just curbside thing which is another trip. I hate the online/app shopping experience for things like groceries. Sometimes I just drive half a mile to get a Big Gulp fountain drink or an ice cream cone with the kid. I could walk or bike, but it’s car centric and 100F outside. It’s also a huge range and varies a lot by season. We certainly have some weekends we barely leave the house.
    - jemmyw 2y ago
      That sounds exhausting. I've got 3 kids and a dog and don't go out in the car nearly as much as that. 5 or 6 times a WEEK! I don't know how you have time left for the actual hobbies. We do though, do most shopping online. > a long tail of specialty stores that are individually irregular but always a few every weekend (pool supplies, makeup for my wife, post office/UPS, etc.) I always save stuff like that up so I don't need to make an extra trip out
      - conductr 2y ago
        It can be. When I’m exhausted, I take a trip and it involves lots of car rides and flights too. Hobby time has suffered the most. My philosophy is spend as much time as possible with my kid while he actually wants to be around me. So that’s my hobby now. But I’m also a nocturnal person so I do hobbies from 9pm-3am. Helps that I have a low stress low demand job. I work about 30 hours a week and can do that any time I want. Some weeks I’ll do a 2 on / 5 off schedule. Or work a lot for a month then take the summer off. I realized that’s a luxury most people don’t have. I do the bulk purchase thing too on lots of stuff but still it seems like there’s always a few places we need to go on any given weekend.
dyauspitr 2y ago
I doubt it. The US is too spread out and large to have a centralized robo taxi system work for everyone. We will need individual vehicles.

Hasu 2y ago

Does it matter if you "own" your car if it is part of the Waymo fleet, getting regular updates and communicating with the Waymo network like any other robotaxi in the fleet? You could even opt into having it give people rides while you're working or sleeping. And then Waymo can have you pay for the maintenance, insurance, and cleaning. It's like having Uber drivers who don't have to drive!

dageshi 2y ago
I think the key issue is that "owning" a car comes with a lot of expectations on behalf of existing customers. People are going to say that if they own it they should be able to mod it as they please, is that actually practical with a self driving car? What if they mod it in some way that makes it dangerous? Who's liable? There's a whole host of issues like this and most of them go away completely if you can't buy a self driving car but you can rent it per ride. Plus, if they do run it as a taxi service I think they can iterate everything from hardware, software and even infrastructure that supports it much faster than if they're selling it. I think google will be content to run a taxi service and let others sell self driving cars if and when they catch up because honestly it's a better business than outright selling cars.

conductr 2y ago

There is still some value in having a dedicated/always available option like car owners are used to. I live in a car centric city and maybe drive somewhere on average of 8 times a day (it's probably 4 on weekdays and maybe 20 on weekends). Uber is always near but still usually takes a minimum of 8-10 minutes and probably an averages ~12-15 minutes in my experience before I am entering the vehicle after summoning it. You can do the math and see that I would spend hours a day waiting in current world. If every vehicle was a Waymo then sure they'd always have one on my block at the ready, in theory. But in reality, a business will eventually seek to maximize efficiency and this will lead to a sucky UX. People also use vehicles as cargo carriages, not simply human transport devices. I know I don't always immediately unload my vehicle when I transport things, sometimes it gets stored there. Sometimes the load time and the unload time don't even make sense to do back to back. Sometimes I load something knowing I will unload it next week. Some things I just carry around with me on the off chance I might need them while out and about. Anyway, there's a lot of nuance to this type of change and why owning a car might still make sense for a lot of people.

jeffbee 2y ago
You get in and out of your car 20 times a day on Saturdays? What hell is that?
- conductr 2y ago
  Probably. I’m guessing. But it equates to 10 destinations. 3-4 are kid activities sports/birthdays/play dates (we only have 1 kid but he’s a busy guy!) 2 weekly dog grooming appointment (doodle!) have to drop her off then pick her up later, so it’s counts as 2 2 we eat out twice on Saturday and once Sunday Rest are other social, family visits, or hobby activities along with a plethora of random errands; groceries, home center, and a long tail of specialty stores that are individually irregular but always a few every weekend (pool supplies, makeup for my wife, post office/UPS, etc.) We shop online so mostly avoid malls and department stores unless it’s more of a boutique thing or something we want to see before buying. We don’t do food delivery or groceries unless it’s just curbside thing which is another trip. I hate the online/app shopping experience for things like groceries. Sometimes I just drive half a mile to get a Big Gulp fountain drink or an ice cream cone with the kid. I could walk or bike, but it’s car centric and 100F outside. It’s also a huge range and varies a lot by season. We certainly have some weekends we barely leave the house.
  - jemmyw 2y ago
    That sounds exhausting. I've got 3 kids and a dog and don't go out in the car nearly as much as that. 5 or 6 times a WEEK! I don't know how you have time left for the actual hobbies. We do though, do most shopping online. > a long tail of specialty stores that are individually irregular but always a few every weekend (pool supplies, makeup for my wife, post office/UPS, etc.) I always save stuff like that up so I don't need to make an extra trip out
    - conductr 2y ago
      It can be. When I’m exhausted, I take a trip and it involves lots of car rides and flights too. Hobby time has suffered the most. My philosophy is spend as much time as possible with my kid while he actually wants to be around me. So that’s my hobby now. But I’m also a nocturnal person so I do hobbies from 9pm-3am. Helps that I have a low stress low demand job. I work about 30 hours a week and can do that any time I want. Some weeks I’ll do a 2 on / 5 off schedule. Or work a lot for a month then take the summer off. I realized that’s a luxury most people don’t have. I do the bulk purchase thing too on lots of stuff but still it seems like there’s always a few places we need to go on any given weekend.

dyauspitr 2y ago

I doubt it. The US is too spread out and large to have a centralized robo taxi system work for everyone. We will need individual vehicles.