Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

401–410 of 916 posts

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

#401

Post by joshSzep »

autobodie wrote: post #327
kelnos wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 thei…

> 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. Young is abolutely the best age to have kids. Ask biology. If you want a society (I do) then you want a society that supports people having children. If you want a healthy society (I do) then you want a society tha…

I’ve been thinking about how modern family structures seem increasingly misaligned with what our biology and history may have prepared us for. It seems likely that nature "intended" families to be multigenerational, larger clan-like units linked by shared responsibility, proximity, and care.

Modern norms have instead left many parents effectively on their own, juggling full-time work with full-time childcare. If multigenerational living were normalized, the retired could help raise the kids while the working adults focus on providing. That setup allows for more quality time rather than burnout.

This isn’t anecdotal. I didn’t grow up in a household like that. But the research supports it:

1. Older adults living with younger generations experience less loneliness, better mental health, and even longer lifespans. 2. Multigenerational households are more financially resilient, less likely to live in poverty, and able to share housing, food, and caregiving costs. 3. Children benefit cognitively and emotionally from regular grandparent involvement. 4. Multigenerational setups enable parents to stay in the workforce while providing more consistent and affordable childcare. 5. Families in these homes report stronger relationships and better intergenerational understanding.

Of course there are challenges. Privacy, space, and generational conflict are real. But with today's social isolation, rising living costs, and aging demographics, we might want to normalize this kind of household again.

Maybe the future isn't just smarter cities or more automation, but rethinking how we live together.

---

*Sources:*

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9876343/ 2. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/03/24/the-inc... 3. https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/75/6/12... 4. https://www.gu.org/app/uploads/2021/03/FamilyMatters2021.pdf 5. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db255.pdf

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

#402

Post by Havoc »

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…

[flagged]

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

#403

Post by munificent »

azan_ wrote: post #389
jfengel wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

My spicy take is that ~90% of people who believe they are introverts actually have a middle level of extroversion plus social anxiety.

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

#404

Post by bilalq »

ryandrake wrote: post #386
ribosometronome wrote: post #355

Earlier 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.

You get barred from a whole suite of services. Anything Google/Alphabet owns or may acquire in the future. People often don't have a choice here.

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

#405

Post by ryandrake »

overfeed wrote: post #396
ryandrake wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

IMO it's attitudes like this that allow companies to continue ripping us all off for small amounts here and small amounts there. They know it's a small amount and most people won't push back, so they keep getting away with it. I suppose the only thing that stops me from hitting the nuclear button every time this happens is that there are a limited number of companies offering many categories of services, and I'd eventually have to charge back each of them and lose access to an entire industry composed entirely of shitty companies.

It would be much better if companies were inclined to amicably settle small dollar disputes rather than the default which seems to be to stonewall, and then ban when the customer uses the only tool they have to push back.

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

#406

Post by wileydragonfly »

overfeed wrote: post #396
ryandrake wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

At $3 your credit card company is just going to comp it to you and move on.

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

#407

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

I just realized why I'd pay premium for Waymo. Sometimes rideshare drivers refuse to pick up my fare, or get lost, or cancel a trip halfway to me. A robot car (one would hope) wouldn't do those things. Get rid of the human bullshit? Take my money.

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

#408

Post by seb1204 »

pokot0 wrote: post #240
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…

People don't hate automation. They hate BAD automation. From your description seems like: Waymo -> Good Automation, Call Center -> Bad Automation. The day we will have a chatgpt level automated customer care experience, we will complain every time humans answer our requests, with their accents and attitudes!

Do you think it's bad automation? I think it's a cost optimisation thing, we don't give refunds and we don't give people a channel to complain. We only measure revenue from trips and as long as that stays up the service quality is ok.

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

#409

Post by seb1204 »

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.

What qualifies a professional driver? Lots of uber trips? A taxi licence? A chauffeur cap? A clean car? A person being employed by a company? Not sure but I suspect it's highly subjective. You can book a premium Uber. Or a limousine like the one some airlines offer as a business class package.

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

#410

Post by ryandrake »

majormajor wrote: post #325
halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a disingenuous take. Americans value their time probably more than any other culture. I’d rather be able to keep reading a book, read some interesting HN content or talk with my friends on Discord more than have small talk with a random uber driver.

The example starting this discussion was not "avoid talking to a taxi driver." It was "book the taxi with an app at higher cost vs using the phone." No Waymos in Europe for them to avoid the drivers with just yet. Simply spending to avoid a phone call. I'm skeptical we save a lot of time with our technology-mediated world. I think I could say "one medium pizza with pepperoni" and hear back "ok it'll be ready in 20 mi…

> I'm skeptical we save a lot of time with our technology-mediated world. I think I could say "one medium pizza with pepperoni" and hear back "ok it'll be ready in 20 minutes" on a phone call quicker than I can put that order in with a device.

Apps could beat this in terms of speed, but they don't seem to prioritize it. Every native app and web app I have ever used to do any kind of commerce (not just ordering food) is a grind of tap this, wait, tap that, wait, tap to enter your username, tap to enter your password, tap, tap, tap, wait, wait, wait, do you want these deals?, tap, wait, tap to enter credit card number, tap to enter expiration date, tap to enter ccv code, confirm order, wait, processing, wait...

I should be able to just invoke my phone's voice assistant function, say "one medium pizza with pepperoni, pick up" and that's it. It already knows where I am, what my usual pizza joint is, what I use to pay, all that. But, we're not there yet for some reason.

Post reply on HN