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In a year's time, we could genuinely see them operating at scale in 6-8 major cities (SF, Phoenix, LA, Austin and new cities), especially with their new dedicated robotaxi from Zeekr. A possible hold up would be China import tariffs imposed by the US government.
Does this mean the self-driving cars are finally here? Where next?
I haven't taken a ride in one of those yet, what does it feel like?
It's a really uncanny feeling when it pulls out into traffic for the first time and the car is driving itself. I have a Tesla, so I've played around with autopilot, but being in the back seat and not being responsible for the car at all is a crazy feeling. Legitimately one of the most "oh my god I'm living in the future moments" I've experienced in recent memory.
Pick up and drop offs get snapped to specific areas so I had to walk ~1.5 blocks on either end which wasn't a big deal for me, but could see how that might be annoying/difficult for others.
The first time you ride in one, it feels truly sci-fi. But within 5 minutes, you're almost bored of it - that's how good it is. If I had to choose between an Uber of questionable cleanliness and driver temperament and a Waymo with a slightly longer wait and slightly more fare, I'd choose the Waymo every time.
(I have no affiliation with Waymo, Google or any related industry - it's just an amazing service!)
I haven't taken a ride in one of those yet, what does it feel like?
> I haven't taken a ride in one of those yet, what does it feel like? Like grandma driving. In a good way. Less jerky motion, cars don’t smell bad, less motion sickness while looking at your phone.
I can't imagine these will be any different...
I highly recommend everyone try it out if you're in SF. It's an incredibly smooth and sure ride. The cars are really nice too (Jaguar I-Pace electric cars), clean and spacious. The first time you ride in one, it feels truly sci-fi. But within 5 minutes, you're almost bored of it - that's how good it is. If I had to choose between an Uber of questionable cleanliness and driver temperament and a Waymo with a slightly l…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I haven't taken a ride in one of those yet, what does it feel like? Like grandma driving. In a good way. Less jerky motion, cars don’t smell bad, less motion sickness while looking at your phone.
Ubers don't smell bad until someone shits or pukes in one. I can't imagine these will be any different...
I got the feeling that man had been accosted many times by angry locals and I may have been the first to give a word of encouragement, he was very polite after the initial tension wore away and he felt my shared enthusiasm. He must have been one of the early engineers, I had never seen or heard the name waymo but I was aware google had been competing in the level 1/2 dessert tests.
The man was very friendly and i was surprised how his behavior must be a reflection of society's view towards technical automation. Seeing the videos of people kicking food delivery robots and now my own tendency to flip off elon musks tesla cameras all these years later I am starting to get why he was nervous.
Cheers to the future I suppose, but hopefully the future has less cars and more walkable cities.
Living here for the last 10 years, it's been jarring how just in the last few years, driverless taxis went from "it'll never happen" to "is this the default now?" The Waymos are genuinely good drivers. I look forward to taking them every time.
That's still far away, these are not driverless cars, there is always a driver monitoring, but they monitor not one but many cars, ready to take over.