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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

#781

Post by kulahan »

ghushn3 wrote: post #504
kulahan wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Threatening someone for being a complete asshole is always okay, and even cool. I really do not care how uncomfortable it makes the driver to move a family a few extra blocks to somewhere vaguely safe. I’d similarly threaten him if he tried to drop my family off in a forest, or on the side of a highway, even if that’s what the GPS, God’s Position System, tells them to do. If your job ends in a way that someone who wa…

> Threatening someone for being a complete asshole is always okay, and even cool. "Being an asshole" is in the eye of the beholder. Plenty of people thing CEOs are assholes, you are saying that it is "always ok, and even cool" to threaten them? Some people think that religious folks are assholes. Some people think blue haired lefty folks are assholes. I think you need better criteria for violence than "I think this p…

lol, three innocent people begging to be taken somewhere safe sure are scamming you. Stop pontificating on situations you’ve never experienced anything within a thousand miles of.

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

#782

Post by gambiting »

jonhohle wrote: post #732
lmm wrote: post #698

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I've learned anything from watching startups on HN, the US is a lawless wasteland where as long as you've got a couple of billion in VC funding you can do anything. I eagerly await the first murder-for-hire startup.

“By visiting our affiliate’s website (adorable-puppy-photos.com), Mr. Doe agreed to our terms of service which specify we may terminate his bodily functions at any time.”

I mean, isn't Disney arguing that court should drop a case about someone dying at a Disneyland resort because their partner agreed to Disney+ terms and conditions?

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

#783

Post by dreghgh »

fc417fc802 wrote: post #580
Retric wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do it anyway. You get your money back, it costs them more money, and the more they ban people over stuff like this the faster you run shitty companies out of business. To do anything else promotes them doing the same thing to you in the future and other people.

This is true, but when there's only a couple options in town you have to assess if you're going to need to use that service in the future. That said, I find it a bit strange that it's legal to retaliate for making use of a right afforded to you by law. It would be like taking them to small claims court, winning, and being banned as a result. (Now that I wrote that I'm wondering if it's a thing that happens.)

It might actually be a good thing to get banned. Possibly it's in your interest not to continue to do business with companies like this, but on any given evening you might abandon your long term interest for the sake of short term convenience and use the bad car ride service.

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

#784

Post by mbesto »

socalgal2 wrote: post #554
mbesto wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is anyone surprised that a smaller segment of the market will pay more for a safer ride in a luxury vehicle compared to a base model Lyft It's a criticism, because this same segment also realizes that a Waymo ride is WAY cheaper to operate than a human driven one.

Is it? It might be some day but they certainly have to factor in all the R&D they're spending.

> Is it?

Ummm then why on earth would they spend the money to build them if it wasn't?!

> but they certainly have to factor in all the R&D they're spending.

Those are capital expenses.

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

#785

Post by chii »

Retric wrote: post #742
chii wrote: post #632

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's why you take them to small claims court. Unfortunately, the terms and conditions have made sure they are clear of small claims by forcing you to do arbitration, which is more expensive for you than them (in relative terms, unless they also put into the T&C to pay for your arbitration costs - which some companies have done iirc, such as epic games). Chargebacks are the last resort - only really worth doing if it…

Chargebacks are the reverse of these kinds of small thefts. A company is free to take you to small claims court over a chargeback, it’s really not worth their time though. As such it’s often preferable for an individual vs arbitration.

> it’s really not worth their time though.

no, but a company has more levers than just small claims court - such as banning you from doing business with them, and removing all existing relationships.

Google, for example, could ban you off gmail, remove your storage in gdrive, and take away all of your youtube videos.

A big enough company with your data/process/utility that you must rely on and is locked in, would have enormous leverage over you that a small claims court won't have.

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

#786

Post by mbesto »

kortilla wrote: post #721
mbesto wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is anyone surprised that a smaller segment of the market will pay more for a safer ride in a luxury vehicle compared to a base model Lyft It's a criticism, because this same segment also realizes that a Waymo ride is WAY cheaper to operate than a human driven one.

It’s not, or at least it definitely wasn’t a year ago. Those cars were something like $700k each and then there is a lot of software dev and AI infra to pay for. They were charging more than Lyft and were still losing money per ride.

> Those cars were something like $700k each

Source? Also, those numbers are quoted with including capital expenditures, which will get depreciated over years. Also, to do a like for like comparison you have to include all of the people, processes, and systems in place that support drivers. That cost center at Uber has to be in the millions globally for Uber (and hard to calculate on a per driver basis, but possible if we had internal numbers).

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

#787

Post by mbesto »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #663
mbesto wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why is anyone surprised that a smaller segment of the market will pay more for a safer ride in a luxury vehicle compared to a base model Lyft It's a criticism, because this same segment also realizes that a Waymo ride is WAY cheaper to operate than a human driven one.

> It's a criticism, because this same segment also realizes that a Waymo ride is WAY cheaper to operate than a human driven one. If this were broadly true, Waymo would be everywhere. If it is true, and that’s a big if that it isn’t being subsidized by the rest of Alphabet, it is only true in a very, very, tiny area of the Earth. On the other hand, Uber is a publicly listed company with public financials already opera…

> If this were broadly true, Waymo would be everywhere.

It's not everywhere because of regulation and Waymo wanting to strategically roll it out carefully to markets. Remember, this is Waymo's first market to offer Waymo through the Uber app. There's a reason Waymo hasn't tested non-human driving in Chicago but it has in Phoenix, SF and Austin (I could give you a hint as to why but I'm sure its obvious).

> Uber is a publicly listed company with public financials already operating globally with profits.

And wants to create even more profit...what's your point? Also it's operating income is a paltry $2B for a company with $41B in revenue. Most of its current net income is from investing activities.

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

#788

Post by jdeibele »

alistairSH wrote: post #716
user_7832 wrote: post #541

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, when you’re tired after a flight with heavy bags, you’re very much being forced to compromise. Any consumer could easily argue why they didn’t have a choice and had to go with what was available.

If you’re just off a flight, you could just use a normal yellow cab.

You could but there are multiple reasons why Uber dethroned taxis and probably the most important ones are that you get a route to your destination and a fixed price to get there.

My first trip to Paris many years ago, I felt that I was getting the "scenic tour" to my hotel from the airport but I wasn't sure where I was and certainly didn't know the best way between the two. There were other variations in other cities.

For a while, I lived near an airport and taxi drivers would be angry because they'd waited a long time to do a short ride and now would have to go back to the end of the line.

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

#789

Post by lurking_swe »

socalgal2 wrote: post #556
Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's my rampant misanthrope leanings, but even in more trivial things like choosing automated kiosks other staffed in CVS, I'm just more comfortable not having to make small talk with a person, worry if they're having a good day or not etc. I'd happily pay 20 percent more to Waymo for that personless experience too.

If the automated systems work I'd use them. Instead, USA systems are designed around trying to prevent theft and they error in the store's favor. I've had those automated systems scream that I haven't put my purchase in the bag. The purchase being single envelope of yeast, too light to measure. So it screams and scream "PLEASE PLACE THE PRODUCT IN THE BAG", "PLEASE PLACE THE PRODUCT IN THE BAG", "PLEASE PLACE THE PRO…

i avoid those stores, i agree it’s very irritating. Stop & Shop is a good example. The checkout machine is constantly weighing the bag! Ugh.

As an FYI there are stores that DON’T have annoying self checkout machines: Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Costco, Home Depot, and a few more…

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

#790

Post by Animats »

1024core wrote: post #302
Animats wrote: post #132

Waymos will get cheaper to make as they scale up. The Ioniq version [1] costs less to build. All the sheet metal and mechanical mods for Waymo are done at the Hyundai factory in Georgia.[2] Waymo just mounts the electronics. Jobs at the Hyundai factory start at $23.66/hour, with reasonably good benefits.[3] [1] https://waymo.com/blog/2024/10/waymo-and-hyundai-enter-partn... [2] https://www.hmgma.com/ [3] https://care…

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…

Waymo and Toyota have a deal to do just that.[1]

[1] https://waymo.com/blog/2025/04/waymo-and-toyota-outline-stra...

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