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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

#861

Post by kortilla »

mbesto wrote: post #786
kortilla wrote: post #721

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 i…

No public source, just talking to old coworkers at Google asking why the rollout was so incredibly slow in the Phoenix location. It’s almost all one big county and the driving conditions are the same across that whole valley.

So why not open up the entire service area? The answer was cost. At the time they were still losing money per ride to help get ML training feedback.

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

#863

Post by bertil »

silvestrov wrote: post #304
flutas wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not op but cleanliness would be my first expectation I've seen many reports of dirty waymos on reddit recently for example. second I'd assume they would start charging you for point 3, "loading delay fee" when you take too long to load, after all that's missed profit from other rides. after that point 1 and 2, with you getting either a Jag (nice car), a Zeekr (unknown to me, Chinese company), or a Ioniq 5 (much cheap…

Wouldn't it be more likely they would charge for "leaving trash in car"? Shouldn't cost much to check car using cameras after each ride.

I would expect this to be triggered by the next passenger complaining, but both options are likely.

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

#864

Post by lesostep »

mystifyingpoi wrote: post #497
Dusseldorf wrote: post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gotta disagree here. Running a checkout lane isn't exactly rocket science, and as such the vast majority of the experiences I have in staffed checkout lanes are neutral to good. When using automated checkout on the other hand, if I even so much as move the wrong way, the system stops and makes me wait for a staff member who is busy dealing with 6 other red-flashing checkouts. When they finally make it over to me, I'm…

I hate checkout machines that require a billion taps on the screen for basic vegetables or fruit. Just give me the keyboard immediately and let me type the first 3 letters or something.

unrelated but we got new checkout machines that used computer vision to guess what fruits are on the scale. It gives 5 guesses on top of the screen, and usual UI on the bottom, allowing shortcut so fast when it guesses correctly, that it feels like a future.

All my friends are convinced that "computer vision" on this thing is just color-based. I kinda think they are right, and we could have had that for decades

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

#865

Post by SomeUserName432 »

I mostly use Uber and find the pricing from my perspective to be random and opaque. The price for a trip may be 3x compared to yesterday, but as long as I don't own car, I'm going to be requesting a ride either way.

Consistently high prices might lead me to get my own car again, I don't know. To me, the main selling point of app A or B isn't minor price differences, it's "will the car actually get here?"

Frequent cancellations, uber drivers accepting the trip, driving around for eons then cancelling.

This is definitely an experience I'd be willing to pay extra to avoid.

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

#866

Post by unsignedint »

kubectl_h wrote: post #238
unsignedint wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I’d happily pay a bit extra just to take tipping out of the equation entirely. Not having to worry about it is enough of a draw on its own. (I’m not a fan of tipping culture to begin with — especially with apps like Uber, where you’re also being rated, which adds even more pressure.) Now if only Waymo were available in my area…

I dislike tipping culture too but the idea that you would pay more so you don't have to tip doesn't make any sense. Additionally you are paying more so you don't have to tip and the thing that enables that is the literal job a human would otherwise have is destroyed. So bizarre. The levels people will go not to deal with any conflict, no matter how trivial it is...

I get what you're saying, but I think there's a misunderstanding. I would opt for something like Waymo, not because I'm trying to avoid people or conflict, but because I prefer a system where the pricing is clear and all-inclusive.

It's not that I don't want people to be paid. I just believe compensation should be built into the cost upfront, not tacked on afterward through a tipping system that creates unnecessary pressure, especially when ratings are involved.

This isn't about replacing people. It's about preferring a model that's transparent, predictable, and fair without making customers responsible for patching up systemic pay issues.

Everyone has their preferences—this is mine, and I'm comfortable with it.

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

#867

Post by Nasrudith »

chipsrafferty wrote: post #317
1024core wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Why sell a car when you can charge per ride?

For the same reasons why you accept a lower price when selling in bulk basically. There are fewer overhead costs for you to deal with. You have to deal with the risks and the slower payout and money now is worth more than money later, the very premise responsible for loans.

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

#868

Post by Nasrudith »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #258
MegaButts wrote: post #252

Earlier 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…

I've never really understood this "improve public transit instead of autonomous vehicles" argument. They're two entirely distinct funding sources. Nothing is preventing us from improving public transit except the same things that always have.

It seemed to me to always have been a goalpost relocation. The talking point wasn't even a fringe view beforehand and if anything would be taken as an obvious diversion from those who are big-oil aligned. Instead it was first seen when electrification of transit was achieved by capitalism.

The watermelons simply couldn't accept that, it went against their article of faith that capitalism is responsible for all of the world's problems and could not provide any solutions. IF there is one thing that makes them the most angry it is solving problems without going to their preferred political alignment. So they all downloaded their latest talking points and reprogrammed themselves and declared that electric car's only purpose is to save the auto industry in spite of 48% of global transport carbon emissions coming from cars and vans.

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

#869

Post by natch »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #778
throwaway2037 wrote: post #676

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ... Tesla. They always make me carsick. I never heard this once before HN. What is particular about Teslas? Is it the rapid acceleration from the electric motor... or lack of familiar engine sound?

> Is it the rapid acceleration from the electric motor Yes. The hard acceleration and braking.

You may have experienced Mad Max mode, but now with continued software updates it’s gotten a lot smoother and is called “Hurry” mode.

There is also Chill mode which would presumably be the default for a Robotaxi.

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

#870

Post by natch »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #835
jobs_throwaway wrote: post #778

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it the rapid acceleration from the electric motor Yes. The hard acceleration and braking.

First, thank you to share you first-hand experiences. This is one of the best features of HN discussions. I promise that I am not trolling with these follow-up questions: Have you ever ridden in a "super car" (Ferrari, etc.) that also has very fast accel/braking? Do you experience the same? If a Tesla driver just drove a bit less aggressively, would you not get car sick? Did you ever try "FSD" on a Tesla on regular s…

I would take these “first hand experiences” with a grain of salt when the commenter is unaware of some basic facts.
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