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Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

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Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#221

Post by AlotOfReading »

robocat wrote: post #73
bastawhiz wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A dime of commercially priced electricity is around a kWh depending on where you are. That'll take a car a lot further than you think, and the more aggressively you drive the more electricity gets used. The most efficient way to drive is the flattest, most leisurely route. The only way aggressive driving becomes profitable is when you've exhausted your supply of cars. Even then, it's not clear to me that you'd increa…

If aggressive driving is 5% faster, then your expensive investment (the cars and the business) might get a few percent better utilisation (assuming liabilities don't increase much). More likely to see aggressive driving on way to pickup? Capital costs matter, and how quickly you get ROI matters.

Taxis charge time + distance, not flat fares. Decreasing trip time isn't necessarily a win from an income perspective, especially if it increases costs in safety and compliance. The real balancing force is customer frustration. Long trips are one of the primary complaints in robotaxi services.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#222

Post by kelnos »

turtlesdown11 wrote: post #200
strictnein wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Savannah's COL is 22% below the national average. $23.66/hr starting pay plus benefits definitely isn't a "starvation wage".

> In Chatham County, the living wage per hour necessary for one adult with no children is $22.46 while those with one kid is $35.70, two kids is $43.45, and three kids is $56.93. https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2024/12/09/what-is-a-...

So that's fine then? A family of four with both parents working at $23.66/hr each is $3.87/hr above that level.

Unless you're saying "starvation wage" and "living wage" are the same thing, which I don't think is a reasonable characterization.

Only problem is if they decide to have a third kid, or if you have a single parent with one or more kids. And while I get that unforeseen things happen to people that lower their wages after they already have their kids, I'm also tired of people becoming parents without considering the financial aspects ahead of time. If you're making minimum wage and are barely surviving, don't have kids until you're on steadier ground.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#223

Post by Philpax »

ninetyninenine wrote: post #180
rossdavidh wrote: post #118

The last time I got an Uber, it was driven by a young fellow who looked to be in his first year of driving (I could be wrong), the car smelled like mothballs and was obviously in poor shape, and he accidentally drove on the wrong side of a divided road for a block or so (he was apologetic). The last time I tried a regular taxi stand, the car looked even worse, and it broke down. So, we called Lyft, and the driver cou…

This is amazing. Don't forget that by you doing this you're taking us one step closer to AI replacing not just the job of drivers but the jobs of all of us. Good sides and bad sides. Hopefully we won't get there and only uber drivers are the ones screwed. Since you and I aren't uber drivers, we don't really care do we?

I'm for equal opportunity screwing: if they lose their jobs, it's only fair my job is at risk too - and given improvements in programming agents, it will be.

The only way we're getting through this is by facing it together, not throwing the more precarious of us under the bus.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#224

Post by jghn »

duxup wrote: post #167
harmmonica wrote: post #137

As a Waymo-booster on HN for a while now, here's my latest anecdote. I tried to figure out how to take Waymo to LAX even though it's not actually in their territory yet just because I value the experience so much. I was borderline going to take it within walking distance (about half a mile), but got lazy at the last minute. I took Lyft instead, and, as if the universe cursed my laziness, I booked a "comfort" car for…

Uber has done that to me. You pick a class but what you get seems unrelated. I need more space for luggage and such and ... some "mid-sized" SUV picks me up that has about as much space a regular sedan anyway ... often the same type of vehicle that picked me up the previous day as a regular vehicle.

I believe they bin vehicles by available seating and not by things like luggage.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#225

Post by recursive »

Spooky23 wrote: post #158
recursive wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regen braking is a way of slowing down like drum brakes. It's not inherently any less smooth.

Uber guys take a bath on EVs, they try to squeeze more range.

That does not really make sense. The most efficient way to drive for range is slow and smooth.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#226

Post by gavinray »

tempestn wrote: post #154

This makes a lot of sense to me. When you ride in an Uber or a taxi, you're a guest in the driver's space. In a Waymo, it's your own space. You can play music, talk on the phone, etc. without worrying about disturbing the driver. You're not likely to have strong odors, or driver's phone conversations. And the experience will be roughly consistent each time. In an Uber, you have no idea what the car or the driving sta…

Exactly, I will pay a premium for not having to deal with a human being in the car with me.

It's a dice roll: you could get a very extroverted driver who won't leave you alone, or someone who smells bad, or someone rude, or a distracted driver...

Just let me sit in peace, alone with a robot.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#227

Post by kelnos »

shiftpgdn wrote: post #214
lupusreal wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just say you feel carsick and want a window open for fresh air. They surely don't want puke in their car so they should be willing to oblige.

They get paid $300 (may be different these days) if you like in the car. The financial incentive for making you puke is quite high.

I don't think that tracks. Not only do they have to incur the cost of getting the car cleaned, but while they're off getting it cleaned, they're also not accepting rides and taking in money. Not to mention it's just a huge hassle and waste of time.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#228

Post by khazhoux »

jopsen wrote: post #170
harmmonica wrote: post #137

As a Waymo-booster on HN for a while now, here's my latest anecdote. I tried to figure out how to take Waymo to LAX even though it's not actually in their territory yet just because I value the experience so much. I was borderline going to take it within walking distance (about half a mile), but got lazy at the last minute. I took Lyft instead, and, as if the universe cursed my laziness, I booked a "comfort" car for…

$3 isn't this kind of a small problem? I miss rideshare service, in Denmark we have mess of expensive high quality taxis that you cannot get hold of when you need one.

> $3 isn't this kind of a small problem?

You're right -- it's surprising Lyft wouldn't just give back $3 (such a small amount!) to keep a customer.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#230

Post by JadeNB »

oytis wrote: post #149
ghaff wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I question that as a general statement if the "other people" are competent, clean, and polite. That's not to say I won't do something online if it's lower friction than going into a DMV office or whatever. Though I don't really do online food delivery in general, I'm perfectly happy going to a number of local restaurants.

Other people are different, that's the thing, while AI is generally predictable quality, and it's not going to go down. Autonomous driving is just one example, I really think it's a general pattern

> AI is generally predictable quality, and it's not going to go down.

"Not going to go down" does not seem consistent with the way other tech trends have developed: magical at first, then subject to endless churn to seem dynamic and reduced quality, increased costs, or both as it becomes harder to squeeze out additional revenue.

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