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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

#351

Post by kelnos »

sokoloff wrote: post #206
kelnos wrote: post #196

This phenomenon is interesting, and a bit surprising. I can kinda see it: while my experiences with Uber & Lyft over the past ~13 years has been overall very positive, there are quite a few minor-seeming-but-adds-up-to-annoying things that can happen with Uber/Lyft that just won't happen with Waymo: * Driver cancels and you have to wait for a new driver to accept. * Driver is really chatty and you aren't in the mood,…

I don't see how Waymo would be immune to the unpleasant smell issue. It might happen less frequently, but it'll definitely happen.

I would expect it to happen much less often. And each instance of it will likely only be for a single customer's ride, as they'll report the issue in the app, and the car will be taken out of service until it's cleaned.

For an Uber/Lyft driver, if they're even (made) aware of the problem, they'll probably not take care of the issue until they've finished their day of driving.

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

#352

Post by reddalo »

MBCook wrote: post #264
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…

There’s something to be said for being able to not be forced to deal with a person, but I see something different personally. I’m “old” (40s) so I didn’t grow up with Uber. Maybe that colors my take. I don’t want to hire random Joes. If I wanted to buy a lift from a random person, I’d expect it to be very cheap. If I’m hiring someone to drive me from A to B I want a professional service. I want professional drivers i…

I think that the best thing about Uber/Lyft is that they've been a wake up call for the taxi industry.

I don't think I'd be able to book taxis (and pay in advance) using an app in my country, if Uber/Lyft didn't exist.

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

#353

Post by Scoundreller »

reddalo wrote: post #352
MBCook wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s something to be said for being able to not be forced to deal with a person, but I see something different personally. I’m “old” (40s) so I didn’t grow up with Uber. Maybe that colors my take. I don’t want to hire random Joes. If I wanted to buy a lift from a random person, I’d expect it to be very cheap. If I’m hiring someone to drive me from A to B I want a professional service. I want professional drivers i…

I think that the best thing about Uber/Lyft is that they've been a wake up call for the taxi industry. I don't think I'd be able to book taxis (and pay in advance) using an app in my country, if Uber/Lyft didn't exist.

Mysteriously their credit card machines work a lot more often now

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

#354

Post by dangoodmanUT »

killion wrote: post #213

This looks like a clickbait study. Waymo is cheaper 100% of the time for me. The two big data points I think they purposely glossed over are: 1. Tip – Uber and Lyft cost 20% more than the ride price. 2. Car quality – Sure, a Corolla on Lyft is cheaper than Waymo. But once you select something desirable the price goes up, a lot.

I love Waymo, but Waymo is not cheaper 100% of the time, unless you have that data? I've had Waymo quote me $26 where uber comfort was $11. I could "tip the bill" and still be under Waymo.

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

#355

Post by ribosometronome »

usehand wrote: post #350
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…

Charges for goods not delivered as agreed falls under the protection of the Fair Credit Billing Act. If you made a good faith attempt to resolve with the merchant (which you did) you should use your credit card to charge back the amount (some let you request a partial charge back, but if not you can request a full one and explain in the extra info that you want a partial one). This might not seem worth it for $3, but…

And then you're forever barred from using the service.

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

#356

Post by sagarm »

MBCook wrote: post #264
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…

There’s something to be said for being able to not be forced to deal with a person, but I see something different personally. I’m “old” (40s) so I didn’t grow up with Uber. Maybe that colors my take. I don’t want to hire random Joes. If I wanted to buy a lift from a random person, I’d expect it to be very cheap. If I’m hiring someone to drive me from A to B I want a professional service. I want professional drivers i…

Black cars existed before Uber and Lyft -- in fact, that was how Uber started.

Uber, in fact, still offers black cars (professional drivers) as an option.

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

#357

Post by ribosometronome »

freddie_mercury wrote: post #338
liveoneggs wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

search "mifold grab and go booster" on amazon

Uber operates in 71 countries. That booster seat is available in 1 country. So it solves 1.4% of the problem. Also that's a booster seat, not a child care seat, so can't be used if your kids are under 4.

Assuming 71 countries of equal Uber using population.

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

#358

Post by dietr1ch »

usehand wrote: post #350
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…

Charges for goods not delivered as agreed falls under the protection of the Fair Credit Billing Act. If you made a good faith attempt to resolve with the merchant (which you did) you should use your credit card to charge back the amount (some let you request a partial charge back, but if not you can request a full one and explain in the extra info that you want a partial one). This might not seem worth it for $3, but…

> you should use your credit card to charge back the amount

Don't you end up getting a new credit card number and have to deal with updating your details everywhere after doing this?

> This might not seem worth it for $3

It seems it's also painful and seemingly not worth it by design. Whenever they can make the process so painful that going through it essentially pays way less than your wage they can get away with it 99% of the time.

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

#359

Post by sagarm »

chipsrafferty wrote: post #317
1024core wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other day I almost got ran over by an old lady in her old Volvo wagon at a stop sign. She seemed to have gotten confused a little and was turning left but couldn't figure out the right move to make. People behind her honked and she decided to just go for it. I happened to be in the crosswalk and just happened to look over at the honking, and saw her coming, so managed to jump out of her way. She was easily over 9…

Why sell a car when you can charge per ride?

It's not so much "why sell the car" but more "who is going to buy this car?" Plus, without maintenance the self-driving capability will probably degrade and become unsafe.

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

#360

Post by sagarm »

crazygringo wrote: post #345
Animats wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a larger Ioniq 9. But the real future is probably a 2-seater with no steering wheel. That handles most usage.

That's actually a really interesting question. Because it's not necessarily about handling most usage, but also about handling peak usage. Is it worth the cost to keep everything 4-seater if that means they can all enter "carpool mode" whenever required at times of peak demand? Because once they become ubiquitous, I suspect the vast majority will be operating in carpool mode at rush hour. Most people won't be willing…

My impression is that the shared ride options on Lyft/Uber only give a small discount and see little usage. Sharing rides is only more difficult and less attractive for Waymo users, who won't have a third party to buffer interactions.
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