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Waymo Premier

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Re: Waymo Premier

#131

Post by Melatonic »

CaliforniaKarl wrote: post #49

I wonder how the subscription would respond to a person's area being blocked off. There construction happening a block down the road from me. As part of the work, the rightmost lane is often blocked during the day (in between rush hours), so that things like concrete pumping can take place. The lane block starts just before where I live. Around the same time, I noticed that when I would try to take Waymo (which I use…

Can't you just walk a block away from the construction ?

Seems like a niche case

Re: Waymo Premier

#132

Post by Rumudiez »

wat10000 wrote: post #99
Rumudiez wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's crazy. my 2005 volvo, 1991 nissan, and 1986 toyota altogether cost me a little over $1k per year (mostly insurance) and it was less than $10k total to buy them all. goes to show average financial literacy in the US. people won't save a few grand for a used car (or take out a small loan even!) and then pay 10x the cost for new

Your used cars are only so cheap because most people don't buy old used cars. If they did as you suggest, then it would no longer be such a good deal.

sure, but also that would drive new car prices down and put pressure on dealerships to stop adding ridiculous fees on top of the MSRP. and more used cars on the road means more independent mechanics means cheaper service. Japan is a great example. in addition to their strong domestic market, the driving culture there is a decent size tourist industry unto itself. there are more tracks per capita in Japan than any other country

Re: Waymo Premier

#133

Post by frankfrank13 »

jbmchuck wrote: post #129
boarsofcanada wrote: post #89

$30/mo is slightly mind boggling for this. I’ve enjoyed the ~70 or so Waymo rides I have taken but to me Waymo, Uber, and Lyft are methods of last resort. My feet, BART, and SFMuni are my primary methods of transportation and for $104/mo I can take an unlimited number of trips, usually very conveniently.

It seems to me a lot of people just really don't like to be associated with public transit or anything associated with anything remotely underclass. It's a class marker to be driven around in an autonomous 6000lbs tank rather than move your legs a bit.

This is a huge difference between NYC and SF. There are certainly some in NYC who would prefer Waymo (direct route, no driver chitchat), but I don't think many New Yorkers would be proud of taking Waymo's. Most people feel embarrassed to admit they took an Uber somewhere!

Re: Waymo Premier

#134

Post by boredatoms »

jbmchuck wrote: post #129
boarsofcanada wrote: post #89

$30/mo is slightly mind boggling for this. I’ve enjoyed the ~70 or so Waymo rides I have taken but to me Waymo, Uber, and Lyft are methods of last resort. My feet, BART, and SFMuni are my primary methods of transportation and for $104/mo I can take an unlimited number of trips, usually very conveniently.

It seems to me a lot of people just really don't like to be associated with public transit or anything associated with anything remotely underclass. It's a class marker to be driven around in an autonomous 6000lbs tank rather than move your legs a bit.

Be serious. Its not a class marker, its a nessesity. Even the poor have cars

People clearly chooses the convenience and predictability of cars, and pay significantly to do so

In places where there is greater convenience/predictability from pubilc transit, they choose it. See london/ny

Re: Waymo Premier

#135

Post by Melatonic »

agumonkey wrote: post #96
echelon wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got 200,000 miles on my Toyota and it's only ever had oil changes, brake pads, and new tires. It'll probably make it another decade. Or two.

Did you know before hand this would be the case ? cause even when choosing a model that was deemed well made and long-lasting, we hit an unfortunate engine belt timing failure (100k cars were concerned, we got one..) and had to replace the whole thing.

How many times did you replace the timing belt (and probably water pump) before the failure ? Curious what vehicle this is

Re: Waymo Premier

#136

Post by dminvs »

Pseudocrat wrote: post #85
bkruse wrote: post #82

I used Waymo about 10 times in Austin - it was great. I wish they'd accelerate the rollout to other cities. I wonder what the major technical hurdles are for launching in a new city?

Well, recently in Austin Waymo cars blocked emergency services during a mass shooting event. That may be causing other cities some caution.

there have been a lot more issues than just that incident

they apparently like driving into floodwaters [1]

one vehicle got confused by construction barriers, entered opposing traffic, and halted [2]

in Dallas, a gas leak caused an explosion that leveled an apartment building, a Waymo unit blocked the scene, and first responders had to first reach into the car and try grasping the wheel, before the remote support agent agreed to kill the car and put it in neutral so they could push it out of their way [3]

I have a moderate fear for the safety of my children with these things on the road

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgplyxxl75o

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/1tzszpx/waymo_stuck...

[3] https://www.keranews.org/news/2026-06-04/oak-cliff-apartment...

Re: Waymo Premier

#137

Post by lukevp »

agumonkey wrote: post #96
echelon wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got 200,000 miles on my Toyota and it's only ever had oil changes, brake pads, and new tires. It'll probably make it another decade. Or two.

Did you know before hand this would be the case ? cause even when choosing a model that was deemed well made and long-lasting, we hit an unfortunate engine belt timing failure (100k cars were concerned, we got one..) and had to replace the whole thing.

Yes, if you get a Toyota and maintain it, it would be expected to make it past 200k miles. They are by far the most reliable cars. Timing belt failures are only catastrophic for interference engines, and most cars use timing chains now, which have a much lower failure rate.

Re: Waymo Premier

#138

Post by bbor »

boarsofcanada wrote: post #89

$30/mo is slightly mind boggling for this. I’ve enjoyed the ~70 or so Waymo rides I have taken but to me Waymo, Uber, and Lyft are methods of last resort. My feet, BART, and SFMuni are my primary methods of transportation and for $104/mo I can take an unlimited number of trips, usually very conveniently.

This is for the people who uber to work every day. Yes, they somehow exist. It blew my mind to meet one — he was spending something like $40/day on transport, as a new grad SWE!

Re: Waymo Premier

#139

Post by cortesoft »

officeplant wrote: post #81
tjohns wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oil changes cost like $35/year if you do it yourself. Decent tires last 4-5 years, so that's like $100/year (to be generous). Air filters are so cheap and need replacement so infrequently as to not even be worth counting.

I can only get 1-2 years out of tires, but I also drive 25K+ miles a year. (And its a heavy EV Van) Tires are $800ish a set for the affordable ones (also due to heavy van) Cabin air filter is twice a year at $18 a filter (I replace them as soon as it smells weird) Home electricity is cheap at least. (7¢/kw)

The increased frequency of tire changes for EVs is not something I realized when I bought an EV. Those batteries are heavy, and put a lot of extra wear on the tires.

Re: Waymo Premier

#140

Post by wxw »

I’m dying to take a Waymo. Glad to see them trying to build sustainable revenue models.

I hate the state of the car-dependent American urban fabric and would love to see public transport everywhere (trains > AVs). But Waymo/AVs can meet people where they are (personal vehicles) and deliver a halfway decent solution (distributed, on demand, cheap transport without human labor).

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