Speaking to a European woman, she said she was not surprised women would pay more not to be harassed. I guess in her country there is more of that. Me, I enjoy human interaction, but the European female angle on taxi "safety" was something I hadn't considered.
Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
391–400 of 916 posts
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#392The 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 not actually convinced that "AI" will even replace all the jobs of drivers. Rumor is that Waymo had trouble in Austin (where I live) when they were centered downtown, because they would gridlock. I'm not convinced that they will work well once they become common on the roads, because they will all drive cautiously, and that may lend itself to gridlock situations. Right now they're in the SE corner of town (also where I live), and they don't seem to gridlock, but the first thing they do is almost always to go to another part of town. They will likely have a useful place, but I'm not convinced that it will pay enough to keep the cars in good shape, long term. The cars are all new, right now, but what happens when they get old and start to malfunction? Will they be making enough money to pay for that? Right now they might (like Uber and Lyft before them) just be burning through VC money, without any prospect of profitability.
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#393Earlier quoted context omitted.
Self-driving cars are cool but I'd rather have good public transit. These vehicles clearly have utility beyond just public transit, but I'd rather they be an edge case rather than considered a main solution. So yeah, from my perspective the problem is being focused on profits instead of trying to solve the real problem with solutions that have already existed for decades. If you zoom out a bit, your argument would be…
We probably went wrong when we decided to maximize money versus maximizing happiness. We badly need to move beyond GDP and to at least IHDI, if not something even better.
Whatever sensible measure you can imagine, it’s most likely very strongly correlated with gdp
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#394Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's really interesting because I hadn't actually thought about that in-depth before. I think Tesla's robotaxi prototype was even a 2-seater. My knee-jerk reaction to your comment was "no, 2 seater won't happen because the incremental cost of the additional seats and doors is immaterial to the overall cost of the car." But then thinking more about it I thought of how great we (all the people who like Waymo) think i…
Bike share programs already exist and are pretty popular in NYC. Self driving doesn't really seem necessary at that scale.
Can you expand on that? Why is it that a vehicle being bigger vs smaller is the distinction? I’m one person but I care about some combo of money/time/distance/comfort. If I could get a cheaper ride from say Houston up to the park rather than having to drive it myself the value prop to me is the same—I don’t have to drive. Heck if the seat on the bike was comfortable enough like a laid-back sport seat in a car I might choose the bike at the same price point because it would be more fun (again this assumes I “know” it’s safe).
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#395Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 Way…
Don't the drivers only see the tips in aggregate form at the end of the week?
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#396Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Let's retain a sense of proportion here; it was $3.
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#397Earlier quoted context omitted.
Minority view here I'm sure but maybe profits are a just reward for inventing the future - this is literally science fiction come to life
Self-driving cars are cool but I'd rather have good public transit. These vehicles clearly have utility beyond just public transit, but I'd rather they be an edge case rather than considered a main solution. So yeah, from my perspective the problem is being focused on profits instead of trying to solve the real problem with solutions that have already existed for decades. If you zoom out a bit, your argument would be…
For many of us "good public transit" would make zero difference in our daily lives in the US. We just don't live somewhere that there will realistically be a bus stop or train stop within easy walking distance. I'm not even a long drive from a train station but it's absolutely unworkable as transportation for most purposes aside from going into the big city 9-5.
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#398The new age version of cabs are over fit, people take them for many things they don't need. Me included; I no longer ask my siblings/friends/spouse to take me to the airport, I just order a lyft/uber where as I wasn't doing that with cabs 10 years ago.
People are catching on to that reality but at least WayMo offers something novel.
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#399As 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 sure but you're already paying $XX for the service in the first place.
Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway
#400Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Isolationism progresses.
What do you propose? Should Uber/Lyft train their drivers better to pick up on social cues to know when to engage and when to shut up and drive? Should they do more to make sure their drivers have good hygiene and manners?