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Waymo Premier

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Re: Waymo Premier

#551

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably not. If you need to walk a mile, that’s a feature, not a bug. Of course, if you need to walk multiple miles, that’s a different story.

Walking to the station isn't even the bad part. The bad part is then walking 3min in tunnels smelling like piss to get to the platform, then waiting 7min more for the train to arrive, then walk 3min more to get out of another piss-filled station. That's 10-15 of absolutely-not-enjoyable subway station.

Agreed.

But these are all things that can (and should) be fixed.

Re: Waymo Premier

#552
post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They might not, but there is a further defence against their lack of consideration about consequences. It's called incarceration.

Not really related to my reply

I'm surprised explanation is necessary, but OK.

Even if the criminals don't themselves consider the presence of cameras, the cameras likely ensure they will not have freedom for too much longer.

Re: Waymo Premier

#553
post #535

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I enjoy going for a walk (and will gladly walk four miles as a leisure activity), I don't enjoy wanting to go somewhere and needing to budget an extra hour (or more) for the extra two miles of walking each way, possibly in bad weather. It's like saying the buses always running a half hour late is a feature because it gives you some time to read.

Walking a mile should take 15-20 minutes. If the streets are very busy, the pollution bad, the tunnels smell like piss etc, then that is the problem. Small amounts of moderate exercise every day are a lot better than going to the gym (by car, usually) for a hard workout. I’d rather read a book on the sofa, but you can’t walk while sitting on the sofa.

I don't see how it's a "feature" if it only makes it pleasant if you're fully able-bodied, the weather is nice, there's no traffic, etc. People want to be able to get places. Having to add an hour to every trip because transit isn't near you is not a benefit.

Re: Waymo Premier

#554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waymos, Uber/Lyft, and taxis don't qualify for commuter benefits in California.

You mean they don't qualify for the tax exemption. They are often still offered as benefits to the employee.

They are often still offered as benefits to the employee.

Offering Waymo and taxis as "commuter" benefits (meaning, to/from the employee's home) to the employee is considered taxable income to the employee unless it's used so rarely that it is considered a nontaxable fringe benefit.

As this creates payroll headaches, most companies outside of perhaps a few in the Bay Area do not offer Waymo or taxis or black car services or Uber/Lyft as "benefits" to the employee.

This is different from the kind of travel costs that can be expensed by employees (i.e., for business trips, client meetings, etc.).

Re: Waymo Premier

#555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never. Only rich urban centers is this possible.

[flagged]

Honestly, I think your post is/was unfairly downvoted. Your sarcasm is spot-on, especially for HN which has an ongoing, eternal debate around urbanism.

I will reply in good faith. For the United States, the following places come to mind (central/super-rich areas of these cities): Boston, NYC/Manhattan, Washington D.C., Miami, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. (For any Texans here: I am struggling to pick a city in Texas, even though many are very wealthy!)

Re: Waymo Premier

#556

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Wealthy people in NYC have no problem with the subway. No trolling: I gotta ask: Is this humor? If so, hat tip. Else: "Wealthy people in NYC (Manhattan)" have a car and driver. They don't care about the subway. What I do believe: People that earn 200K to 400K in NYC/Manhattan still frequently ride the subway to work. Why? They rent/buy an apartment on an extremely convenient subway line to their office. They are no…

> People that earn 200K to 400K in NYC/Manhattan still frequently ride the subway to work. Why? They rent/buy an apartment on an extremely convenient subway line to their office. Sure, this is mostly what I was referring to. The overwhelming number of people in SF would never dream of choosing where to live based off public transit access. I cant speak to billionaires, but the upper middle class of NYC(imo these peop…

    > The overwhelming number of people in SF would never dream of choosing where to live based off public transit access.
I want to push back on this idea. Why would Manhattan (and the very selective group of people that I discussed) be any different than San Francisco? Think about it: Imagine that you work for Uber/Twitter/Google/Meta in San Francisco and earn 200K to 400K total comp. It is very unlikely that you drive to work. (Let's assume your office is downtown or SoMa.) You ride Muni Metro or BART. Where do you think these people live? Just like the junior bankers/lawyers in Manhattan, they live in a neighborhood with excellent access to Muni Metro or BART to make their commute as convenient as possible. I don't say it often here on HN, but if you live in the Northeast Quadrant of San Francisco, it is quite reasonable to live without a car. The best mass transit options are overwhelmingly in that quadrant of SF.

Re: Waymo Premier

#557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a difference between buying a GMC Pedestrian Destroyer and a Honda Civic.

Certainly true, but my 1989 Honda Civic would still be obliterated in a collision with a modern one- everything has grown substantially.

A modern civic, some of which arent much larger than yours, would have a much better outcome.

Re: Waymo Premier

#558

Waymo will never be a serious option until they fix the insane surge pricing. And yes, they're working on it. > “I never got my driver's license, and I rely on Waymo to commute to an office every day," said Sarah Paige Roland, a Waymo rider in Phoenix. "I get privacy, time back, a safe ride, and I'm not obligated to talk to someone that I don't want to talk to. Adding cash back and priority pickups on top of that mak…

> use waymo if youre too stupid to get a DL and too antisocial to talk to people". -or- use Waymo if you don’t want to spend resources on owning and maintaining a car, and if you are part of the population that has or may feel too intimidated or unsafe to navigate a potentially adversarial conversation with someone more powerful than you, such as women.

sure, and im saying they could have done a much better job communicating that

Re: Waymo Premier

#559
post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in LA for over a decade with a car and got zero parking tickets. I wouldn't call it inevitable.

Great? Too many variables such as not having to park on the street or bad/good luck. If you live somewhere that has street cleaning, street parking and meters there is a good chance of getting a ticket. Not everyone but the likelihood increases and most of LA does not really check most of those boxes at least in the areas I have been.

Street cleaning days/times are posted and if they aren't - you can contest and win the case. Meters? It's easy to NOT park in one hour zone if you need more than an hour. It's easy to avoid parking next to fire hydrant.

I have a friend that often parks in 30 minutes zone, for her hour-long yoga, sometimes she gets a ticket, but that's a gamble she is willing to make. You don't magically get tickets in big city, you get tickets because you ignored the rules willingly. Couldn't find parking because you were in a rush? Who decided to not account for "time to find parking time"?

Re: Waymo Premier

#560
post #559

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great? Too many variables such as not having to park on the street or bad/good luck. If you live somewhere that has street cleaning, street parking and meters there is a good chance of getting a ticket. Not everyone but the likelihood increases and most of LA does not really check most of those boxes at least in the areas I have been.

Street cleaning days/times are posted and if they aren't - you can contest and win the case. Meters? It's easy to NOT park in one hour zone if you need more than an hour. It's easy to avoid parking next to fire hydrant. I have a friend that often parks in 30 minutes zone, for her hour-long yoga, sometimes she gets a ticket, but that's a gamble she is willing to make. You don't magically get tickets in big city, you g…

Cool story. YMMV but for anyone that has lived in more urban cities it’s pretty normal to get at least a few parking related tickets. Not always but also not rare. In my example I already shared I would get meter tickets especially on my motorcycle where the looked at the wrong meter stall. Too much trouble to bother fighting. Just a cost of living in a city.

Glad it works for you but it’s not unreasonable to consider it a partial cost of living in a city. It’s easy to pick out the folks that have not owned cars in dense cities.

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