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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

#381

Post by rayxi271828 »

I've been taking these rides 5-6 days a week, everywhere, and also in other countries outside the US. What I've come to realize is this: what matters to me the most is the consistency of the lowest bar of the experience.

I get that sometimes with human drivers, when I'm lucky, I get someone who goes above and beyond, someone who's fantastic to talk to along the way, and so on.

But if I can trade all that with a guarantee that there's a consistent, predictable floor to my worst experience, I'll take it in a heartbeat.

At the end of it, I take a ride to get from point A to point B. I'd rather have a machine does it for me very efficiently, without all the messy human element, with the ups and the downs, because it's the downs that ruin my day.

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

#382

Post by xKingfisher »

I've had the opposite experience recently.

Going from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica is $30s for a Waymo and runs up to $50s for Uber/Lyft (sometimes). Otherwise, they tend to be within a few dollars.

I figured it was a combination of Google subsidizing rides and a lack of a "traffic tax".

They're a significantly better experience for 45+ minute rides.

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

#383

Post by ghaff »

sagarm wrote: post #356
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…

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.

But a lot of people basically wanted VC-subsidized cheaper cabs. Even if the easier and more reliable ordering was a bonus.

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

#384

Post by brunoarueira »

dietr1ch wrote: post #358
usehand wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Once during the first year of the covid pandemic, I requested a couple meals for me and my wife through the Uber eats for lunch, my wife was accompanying in the hospital my mother-in-law on Sunday, then after suddenly the place informed the meals was delivered, but I didn't received anything. After I tried to discuss with Uber eats, I had appealled for the credit card, they full refund me.

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

#385

Post by ryandrake »

pureagave wrote: post #281
duxup wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 paid extra and scheduled an Uber with a child seat. After waiting 30 minutes, when the car showed up, there was no car seat so the driver canceled right away and drove off. Lesson learned.

I'm pretty sure by now the various "classes" of service offered by Lyft and Uber are instead just ways for the customer to donate money to Lyft and Uber. There's no difference in what kind of yahoo shows up in what kind of beater.

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

#386

Post by ryandrake »

ribosometronome wrote: post #355
usehand wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Why would you want to continue using a service that is ripping you off? If you're at the point where your only recourse is to charge back, that's kind of a bridge burning moment.

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

#387

Post by zenonu »

rayxi271828 wrote: post #381

I've been taking these rides 5-6 days a week, everywhere, and also in other countries outside the US. What I've come to realize is this: what matters to me the most is the consistency of the lowest bar of the experience. I get that sometimes with human drivers, when I'm lucky, I get someone who goes above and beyond, someone who's fantastic to talk to along the way, and so on. But if I can trade all that with a guara…

100%. I've discovered the floor: Small cars that probably aren't safe, trashed interior, and drivers who smell of literally every vice while talking on the phone AND playing whatever music all together. "Premium" is simply not that experience.

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

#388

Post by ryandrake »

reddalo wrote: post #349
sanswork wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$3 is small enough that almost everyone will just eat the cost. I have a theory that they do this intentionally in some things(well Uber I've never used lift). Almost every time I order food and something is wrong or missing they'll give me a refund that is $2-3 off what it should be. Like if I order a $5 item and it's missing their service will refund me $2. At that point I can chose to spend literally an hour going…

Speaking of small costs, some time ago I paid 2 euros with my credit card in order to enter the central train station toilets in Milan, Italy. The toilets were awfully dirty, there was no toilet paper and no soap. I took some pictures just in case, then I filed a chargeback with my bank. After some weeks, they gave me my 2 euros back, and the company that manages the toilets probably paid a small fine to MasterCard o…

> Was it a waste of time, for just 2 euros? Sure. But if nobody starts complaining, nothing will ever be fixed.

This is how I feel. Money is money. If you don't complain, why not just start donating to these corporations? It's effectively the same thing. I've successfully argued over a difference of $0.90 on a restaurant order (they rung up a different appetizer than I actually ordered). If you don't push back, they'll never get better.

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

#389

Post by azan_ »

jfengel wrote: post #337
Mordisquitos wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting how American cultural expectations of forced social interaction may be having the effect of promoting automated systems as a reaction. As someone who lives in Spain and has lived in the UK, the idea of choosing self-checkout at a supermarket to avoid small talk with a cashier sounds alien to me; we simply don't do that here. While cashiers will certainly chat with certain customers while scanning the…

That is extremely rare in America, too. But it still feels awkward to an introvert. Just having another person nearby makes you feel self conscious. You won't be called on to make small talk, but you can't be sure of that.

I think what you are describing is social anxiety, not just being introverted.

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

#390

Post by StableAlkyne »

chipsrafferty wrote: post #315
fluidcruft wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also the issue of tipping. I haven't been in a waymo but I generally tip well in Uber or Lyft. I wouldn't tip a robot. So at least to me $15+$5 tip vs $20 is pretty much a wash.

You don't have to tip an Uber or Lyft, either.

[Caveat: there aren't many Lyft drivers in my town, so I have only used Uber]

The problem is their system extorts you into tipping. If you don't tip, the driver will give you a 1/5 rating. If your rating averages low enough, nobody will pick you up. It's more of a bribe you pay for a good passenger rating than an actual tip.

As a result, you're forced to tip if you want to use it long term.

Personally, I'm hoping Waymo takes Uber's lunch money. I will gladly pay more for a service has not been infected with tipping.

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