Waymo One doubles service area in Phoenix, continues growing in SF

Post by StrictDabbler » Fri, May 05, 2023, 10:55 PM UTC

ajcp wrote: post #122

austinkhale wrote: post #5

I live inside the original area in Phoenix where they did their training. I have to give kudos where it's due. I originally _hated_ their cars constantly driving around our neighborhood, but I was persuaded to try one a few weeks back. It completely changed my mind. They are now my favorite way to get around. I am a very happy, frequent customer and hope they keep adding coverage and more cars. This is absolutely the…

I live downtown PHX (Roosevelt Row) and beyond riding in them I MUCH prefer them driving around on the streets than actual human drivers. There isn't a day goes by that I don't see drivers make up 4-way stops, disregard the 4-way stops, flip a youey in the middle of an intersection, etc. Contrast that to the ever predictable Weymo, just quietly going about their little self-driving existence. Only problem I've seen w…

Post by wolfram74 » Fri, May 05, 2023, 10:59 PM UTC

abecedarius wrote: post #167

dangus wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It blows my mind that someone living downtown in a city the size of Phoenix (relatively large) needs to use a car at all. It’s really a shameful failure of urban planning.

Is a 20th-century mass transit system actually preferable to robocars once the technology is mature? My guess is it's the cities like Austin, planning new transit systems without designing for synergies with robocars, who are failing at urban planning.

Post by abecedarius » Fri, May 05, 2023, 11:02 PM UTC

wolfram74 wrote: post #173

abecedarius wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is a 20th-century mass transit system actually preferable to robocars once the technology is mature? My guess is it's the cities like Austin, planning new transit systems without designing for synergies with robocars, who are failing at urban planning.

From an energetics perspective it's incredibly hard to beat walking, biking or rails. If your occupancy on the car is reliably greater than 1, that is an improvement over single occupancy cars, but those boxes are just huge compared to a bicycle.

Post by JumpCrisscross » Fri, May 05, 2023, 11:07 PM UTC

iinnPP wrote: post #117

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> money to goal or is it a better society More people taking cheaper trips in cleaner vehicles is a better society in my book.

Absolutely. That is the today impact. What about when it's Waymo One or Uber Zero. Support is GPT7 Two. No call center jobs, no driving jobs, less supporting jobs, less money flow, more homelessness, more violence. Decreasing compensation for the jobs remaining due to increased competition. Short term profits go brrr?

Post by tln » Fri, May 05, 2023, 11:15 PM UTC

rahimnathwani wrote: post #159

sprout20 wrote: post #93

I've had access in SF for the past few months and have been really impressed! The Waymo rides I've taken have been confident + a bit conservative (e.g. driving at the speed limit when traffic is flowing more quickly), but overall the team's done a great job with the experience. It's free for now so I've been using it regularly during commuting/rush hour and casual drives. Some quick thoughts: Advantages over Uber/Lyf…

"Driving is sometimes a little bit jerky (e.g. at stop signs, while inching on a right turn at a red light)" Imagine if all (or even most!) SF drivers decided they would come to a complete stop at each stop sign and at each red light!