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Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

road.cc

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Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#21

Post by skybrian »

jMyles wrote: post #9
l1n wrote: post #5

this is a pointer to https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/22/waymo-is-not-in-the-v... In San Francisco, the vehicles often pull into bike lanes to pick up and drop off passengers — because that’s what they’re programmed to do, according to advocates who’ve asked the company for an explanation. Waymo has told advocates that expecting it to respect bike lanes is “too high a bar” because customers expect to be dropped of…

> Can't find a Waymo article about this, but Lyft and Uber (let alone trad taxis) also do this. I'm not sure that this is a particularly autonomous-car-shaped sin. It depends on expectations. If the pitch is (and, let's face it - it is) that automs will be less violent, then this is a problem. If we're OK with them just adopting the existing levels of misery and death visited upon our communities by cars, then the up…

How do you know it’s “violent?” It might not technically be allowed but that doesn’t mean they’re doing it unsafely.

There’s quite a difference between violent and illegal and they shouldn’t be confused.

Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#22

Post by vlovich123 »

jMyles wrote: post #9
l1n wrote: post #5

this is a pointer to https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/22/waymo-is-not-in-the-v... In San Francisco, the vehicles often pull into bike lanes to pick up and drop off passengers — because that’s what they’re programmed to do, according to advocates who’ve asked the company for an explanation. Waymo has told advocates that expecting it to respect bike lanes is “too high a bar” because customers expect to be dropped of…

> Can't find a Waymo article about this, but Lyft and Uber (let alone trad taxis) also do this. I'm not sure that this is a particularly autonomous-car-shaped sin. It depends on expectations. If the pitch is (and, let's face it - it is) that automs will be less violent, then this is a problem. If we're OK with them just adopting the existing levels of misery and death visited upon our communities by cars, then the up…

A) I see no evidence this is creating death or misery. Autonomous still seems safer.

B) even if in this one aspect they remain status quo, overall it would still be an improvement.

Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#23

Post by kibwen »

I can't wait to carry a set of orange cones on me at all times so that I can put any misbehaving autonomous cars in Road Jail. After all, expecting cyclists not to resort to vigilantism to keep themselves safe from billion-dollar companies is unrealistic.

Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#24

Post by NegativeK »

senthil_rajasek wrote: post #4

I live in the U.S. road.cc seems to be a cycling news site primarily for U.K. When I am driving a car or use a rideshare I expect to share the bike lane when turning or getting off. I wish the title had included these additional words "In some situations..."

Bike lanes exist to protect cyclists from drivers and to limit how cyclists affect the flow of traffic. Cars stopping in the bike lane shit all over that, just like they would if they parked on the sidewalk.

I wish drivers (and now leaders of a company) would have more empathy toward people on the road that can be squashed like a bug.

Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#25

Post by claw-el »

I wonder if cities would want to create even more short term pick up and drop off points on the road for USPS, UPS, FedEx, DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, Waymo and other similar short term parking needs, this would mean removing some long term street parking options and potentially conflict with some bike lanes in some areas.

Would cities be willing to give up on the parking fines revenue they are generating right now? How should cities be incentivized to change with the changing mobilities needs of the people living inside dense cities?

Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#26

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

vlovich123 wrote: post #22
jMyles wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can't find a Waymo article about this, but Lyft and Uber (let alone trad taxis) also do this. I'm not sure that this is a particularly autonomous-car-shaped sin. It depends on expectations. If the pitch is (and, let's face it - it is) that automs will be less violent, then this is a problem. If we're OK with them just adopting the existing levels of misery and death visited upon our communities by cars, then the up…

A) I see no evidence this is creating death or misery. Autonomous still seems safer. B) even if in this one aspect they remain status quo, overall it would still be an improvement.

The source article describes an incident where a cyclist was seriously injured after Waymo's cyclist detection system failed while it was parked in a bike lane, allowing the passenger to hit her with the door. I don't think this represents some terrible sin where Waymo executives should all go to prison, but I do think we can reasonably expect and if necessary demand that Waymo take action to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#27

Post by tjwebbnorfolk »

jMyles wrote: post #9
l1n wrote: post #5

this is a pointer to https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/04/22/waymo-is-not-in-the-v... In San Francisco, the vehicles often pull into bike lanes to pick up and drop off passengers — because that’s what they’re programmed to do, according to advocates who’ve asked the company for an explanation. Waymo has told advocates that expecting it to respect bike lanes is “too high a bar” because customers expect to be dropped of…

> Can't find a Waymo article about this, but Lyft and Uber (let alone trad taxis) also do this. I'm not sure that this is a particularly autonomous-car-shaped sin. It depends on expectations. If the pitch is (and, let's face it - it is) that automs will be less violent, then this is a problem. If we're OK with them just adopting the existing levels of misery and death visited upon our communities by cars, then the up…

I want to hear how you equate "misery and death" with "unloading a passenger in the bike lane for 30 seconds".

I can't tell if you intend this a real analogy or if you are overcome with rage when thinking about motor vehicles

Re: Waymo says can't avoid bike lanes because riders want to be dropped off in them

#29

Post by dzhiurgis »

jackyinger wrote: post #10

I thought the point of driverless cars is that they are supposed to be better than humans. This should be excepted fork that goal. If this is accepted, what would be the next thing to be deemed unrealistic?

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