Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

cpuc.ca.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 424 posts

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#251

Post by johnnyanmac »

csharpminor wrote: post #89
tempest_ wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> people underestimate how much of a quality of life improvement these are for people even when compared to Uber/Lyft I do underestimate it. What are quality of life improvements? Seems to be the same thing from a customer perspective. I guess if you are concerned for your safety from the uber driver it is an improvement but it is the only one that comes to mind.

It’s one of those experiences you didn’t realize you wanted until you have it. - No need for chit chat, you can just work / talk on the phone / play music - No 18-hour shift sweat and deodorant smell - No cursing at other drivers or awkward apologies because of fear of a bad rating - Smooth, predictable driving. I have yet to have a “holy shit” moment in a Waymo, but this happens regularly in Uber / Lyft. Also on saf…

IDK, It just sounds like some people have bad experiences and is using negativity bias to justify early tech (and ofc a skewed audience who seems to abhor socialties). All my uber rides were boring and uneventful. I see no need to pay a premium to guarantee that.

Meanwhile the driving experience of autonomous drivers is still not at a satisfactory stage for me. Maybe it worked fine in SF, but LA has some pretty rough, unmaintained roads to navigate.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#253

Post by johnnyanmac »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #67
dangus wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Owning a car yourself is the most costly option, so I would hope that it is the “best.” Purchase price, depreciation, maintenance, insurance, fuel. Edit: to be clear I’m putting “best” in quotes because personal car ownership is pretty terrible in terms of value.

You can't park your own car at the airport safely and economically for a two week trip.

yeah, That's the only time I really consider Uber, when doing long term travel and parking costs/risks outweigh the cost of a taxi.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#254

Post by Aloisius »

subarctic wrote: post #186
Aloisius wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they were less safe than human drivers, one would there would be more accidents where Waymo was at fault than another party. Having personally gone through several years of AV collisions reports to California a few months back, that wasn't the case. Indeed, in most of the small number of cases where Waymo was at fault, there was human driver in control of the vehicle. The were a four cases where the Waymo was at f…

Now that you put it that way, it's probably tough to get in an accident with a waymo without being found at fault. How often does a car stop suddenly and unexpectedly, get rear ended, and get found at fault?

Never. If you rear end someone because you were following too closely to stop without hitting them, you're at fault. There's a reason why the three second rule is taught.

There are some rare exceptions like if someone's tail lights are out, but nothing that would apply here.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#255

Post by __loam »

_acco wrote: post #117

I love Waymo and use it all the time. One aspect I'd still like to see them figure out: As a bike commuter, I share the road with Waymo often. When cycling, you're always checking the eyes of other drivers to confirm if they see you. I've had a couple incidents where I was a little thrown/unnerved because I couldn't confirm if a Waymo was registering me. It ultimately behaved fine, but I had to put my guard way up be…

I agree that the UX could be better but it's definitely seeing you better than a human would. It can see you behind shit and around corners and in blind spots. Whether it reacts correctly is another story, but additionally, there's a strong incentive for Waymo not to hit you because of the regulatory regime. They have to report all collisions to a regulatory body and they have to send in all the data they had showing why they hit you. If they're at fault, you're almost certainly getting a big payout.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#256

Post by fragmede »

Animats wrote: post #108

I'm in the new service area, and look forward to this being available. Do you have to have a Google account? Do you have to accept the Google Play Store?

You do need a Google account. I'm on iOS so don't have a Google play store though.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#257

Post by Rebelgecko »

afhjafh3883 wrote: post #7

Has anyone tried it recently? Does it work well? How does the price compare to Uber?

For the free rides they've been doing in LA, they still tell you what it would normally cost. It's usually been within a couple bucks of Uber/Lyft, but Waymo doesn't ask you to tip.

It works pretty well. Sometimes it makes nonoptimal choices for where to drop off, but I can't say that it's worse than humans at making those decisions.

The screens in the car showing it's view of the environment are super impressive. It often sees pedestrians before I do, and it has some really cool features like warning you about relevant traffic when you get out of the car (not generic warnings but detailed info like "there's a scooter passing on the left" when you unlock the doors).

Some minor annoyances: storage space isn't great. I don't think the frunk is user accessible. Driver's seat isn't usable.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#258

Post by bigyikes »

nradov wrote: post #228
ugh123 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How will waymo help with something like the super bowl? It's going to be overcapacity too. Ability to scale the amount of Waymo cars to an area is immensely easier than scaling the amount of Uber/Lyft drivers available and willing to go to said area.

Nope. Cars are expensive. Waymo won't keep a bunch of extras sitting around just so that they have reserve capacity to scale up service during unusually busy events. It's more profitable just to make customers wait, or ask them to pay a higher fare for priority service.

Cars are extremely cheap compared to their drivers.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#259

Post by __loam »

tempest_ wrote: post #24
austinkhale wrote: post #8

Fantastic news. I use them all the time in Phoenix. My mom uses them to get to her doctor appointments. I think people underestimate how much of a quality of life improvement these are for people even when compared to Uber/Lyft.

> people underestimate how much of a quality of life improvement these are for people even when compared to Uber/Lyft I do underestimate it. What are quality of life improvements? Seems to be the same thing from a customer perspective. I guess if you are concerned for your safety from the uber driver it is an improvement but it is the only one that comes to mind.

Super minor but I've gotten sick in ubers like 3 times in the past year from erratic driving. Has not been the case for waymos.

Re: California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF Peninsula [pdf]

#260

Post by simplicitea »

singleshot_ wrote: post #60
tempest_ wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> people underestimate how much of a quality of life improvement these are for people even when compared to Uber/Lyft I do underestimate it. What are quality of life improvements? Seems to be the same thing from a customer perspective. I guess if you are concerned for your safety from the uber driver it is an improvement but it is the only one that comes to mind.

I don’t need to be given a numeric rating by my chauffeur on how well I sit in the back of a car. The social play-acting part of ridesharing apps became exhausting to me (admittedly: an introvert) sometime during the first ride.

....you can just not participate and keep to yourself and I guarantee you'll have a 5 star rating from every driver in america
Post reply on HN