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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

#871

Post by Nasrudith »

ghushn3 wrote: post #450
silvr wrote: post #159

Earlier 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

Why? Why is not "everyone has access" and "wellbeing for everyone" the reward for inventing the future? Why is "that person gets to be extraordinarily wealthy" for inventing the future rather than "we all chipped in so we could all benefit" for inventing the future? If Waymos make the world better and safer and more convenient, why are they not simply something we figure out how to make a public good? In Star Trek yo…

You are referencing fiction unironically as an argument which is a rather worrying sign for your connection to objective reality. You also don't have to worry about logistics in RTSes, but that isn't an argument for revolutionizing military strategy.

As for why it isn't something you can figure out how to make a public good? In order for it to truly be a public good you have to either make it as one in the first place via the public sector or at very least pay a large sum of money in order to buy it out (which you have already objected to). Otherwise it is just plain stealing.

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

#872

Post by 542354234235 »

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…

Definitely a store choice. I am in an area with Publix grocery stores and have never had an issue with self checkout. I bring my own bags and have a bag in the bag area and one in the cart and can scan items and put them right back in the bag cart without any issue. They have a person monitoring the 5 stations and clearing alcohol purchases and other issues and it goes very fast. They also pay their people well, so the staffed checkout lanes are also very fast. I just personally prefer packing my own bags, even though I’m not as quick as the workers.

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

#873

Post by joshstrange »

ghaff wrote: post #383
sagarm wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

But a lot of people basically wanted VC-subsidized cheaper cabs. Even if the easier and more reliable ordering was a bonus.

Cheap factored in for some but easy of use and reliability were my main reasons for using Lyft/Uber.

Maybe if you lived in a bigger city the taxis were good but I assure you that in Lexington, KY they were terrible. You had to call into a dispatcher, the connection/quality was terrible, they were blunt/rude, and you got a general idea of when someone might show up. I tried once to schedule for 8:45am pick up (I called around 7:30) and someone showed up at 7:45am mad that I wasn't ready. On top of all of that _no one_ took credit card and the drivers were rude and often hard to communicate with.

With Lyft/Uber I could see where my driver was, my destination was already entered, and it was all charged to my card. I cannot stress enough how much better this was and I was happy to see the taxi companies go down in flames.

Uber and Lyft have _many_ problems but they are still leagues ahead of taxis. I recently traveled to Italy and absolutely hated the lack of Uber-like services and the need to use taxis. It felt like going back in time, I was shocked at the state of things there.

Lastly, nothing boils my blood quite like watching the meter all the way to the destination, then the driver pressing some buttons and the total jumping 20-50%. WTH is that? Whatever it is, I hate it.

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

#874

Post by 542354234235 »

fnordpiglet wrote: post #830
klabb3 wrote: post #699

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I will likely have my own personal self-driving vehicle. The self-driving car ”utopia” (or rather moderate improvement) very much hinges on the space savings on roadways and parking, to increase utilization, reduce congestion and allow dead space to be reclaimed. If people think like you (no value judgment, I suspect this might be the future norm), then you’ll see almost no change to the urban landscape as a whole.…

Actually this is untrue. The congestion improvement comes from cooperation between vehicles. Basic control theory applied to cooperative vehicles found 5% of cars participating can eliminate stop and go traffic conditions, and in general as you approach 100% penetration all traffic moves at maximum rate effectively like a self assembling mass transit system. Only if you effectively replaced human drivers as adversari…

If you built a lightrail where only 3 people could be in each section, that would be a close equivilant to driver density. At anything close to rush hour, you couldn't put enough trains on the line to keep up with demand, because trying to transport that many people, at that low density, all to the same area just doesn't work. It is so crazy to me the lengths people will go to justify car culture over walkability and public transit.

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

#875

Post by mindslight »

Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #560
jart wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Flagged and dead? Are we to take that as Y-Combinator officially endorsing violent rioting and property destruction?

I'd say it's the rejection of a tangential political snipe in support of autocratic authoritarianism, in a place where it isn't going to lead to a fleshed-out discussion.

Keep turning the screws on people, and some people will turn to property destruction. The individual acts are wrong and misguided. But the overall dynamic is completely understandable, and ignoring it is as disingenuous as "let them eat cake".

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

#876

Post by kylehotchkiss »

iwanttocomment wrote: post #45

In Austin, Waymos are hailed via the Uber app, which will quote you a price which is good for either a conventional Uber or a Waymo, and you get a Waymo if one is available. Same price. The Waymo is actually cheaper because there's no tip. The issue I have with Waymo is that getting in and out of those i-Paces as a "person of height" is rather difficult - I really have to do a strange contortion - and if I want to si…

Do you always tip uber/lyft drivers? I usually only will if they get out of the car and help me load or unload a heavy (40+ lbs) suitcase. If they just push the trunk open button, I'm neither giving a 5 star review nor a tip ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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

#877

Post by rangestransform »

roughly wrote: post #774
eptcyka wrote: post #595

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In public spaces specifically, at least in Sweden, like train stations, the only difference between an elevator and a toilet is that one has to pay to enter the toilet.

> one has to pay to enter the toilet. I’m not sure what people were expecting when they implemented this policy. There’s plenty of places to pee in the world, a restroom is a request it happens in one particular place.

I would pay for restrooms if they were regularly cleaned and excluded homeless by virtue of their price

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

#878

Post by rangestransform »

klabb3 wrote: post #699
cyberax wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For now they’re well surveilled and a premium vehicle. Soon they will be filthy pods in a race to the bottom with all the charm of a public bathroom. So, like transit? I will likely have my own personal self-driving vehicle. And I'm 100% sure that there'll be an upmarket segment with slightly more expensive cars that are kept more clean than the rest.

> I will likely have my own personal self-driving vehicle. The self-driving car ”utopia” (or rather moderate improvement) very much hinges on the space savings on roadways and parking, to increase utilization, reduce congestion and allow dead space to be reclaimed. If people think like you (no value judgment, I suspect this might be the future norm), then you’ll see almost no change to the urban landscape as a whole.…

You make it sound like a bad thing that I can avoid sharing space with people who smoke on the train, people who blast music on the train, people who do gymnastics on the train, people who make death threats on the train, people on the train who accost my girlfriend, people in the JetBlue security line who don’t know how to expediently unpack their luggage at the security line (got around this with precheck), and so forth

All of these were actual situations I encountered in NYC. The only reasons I don’t move somewhere car dependent are because I enjoy cycling and I hate parking even more than sharing space with the dregs of society.

Before anyone gets on their high horse about taking care of the lowest members of society, I pay enough taxes to completely absolve myself of any additional responsibility to them (NYC spends around 60000/annum/homeless person).

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

#879

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

lurking_swe wrote: post #792
icelancer wrote: post #563

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because if they ever become super popular, it will be prohibitively expensive to actually police all the surveillance. Likely to store / process it all. AI does an alright job summarizing videos today (Gemini Flash) but it has to get a lot better if they're going to actually police at scale.

I think simple solutions exist. For example the waymo could just ask the rider at the beginning of the ride “Is your car smelly? Any trash in the car?” If they reply YES to any of those questions, then google keeps the recording of the previous ride for later review. Simple, no? If the car actually was dirty, give the person that said “car was dirty” a refund of 20% on their ride. Then charge the party that made the…

You realize that this will just cause people to answer, "yes, it smells like urine" and then pee in the car?

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

#880

Post by alistairSH »

jonny_eh wrote: post #754
alistairSH wrote: post #713

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know why they don’t require it. Every Uber in Porto Rico uses the PIN but I’ve only had one in the mainland USA ask for it.

You need to enable it on your account.

Exactly - I believe it should be required for safety, limits shenanigans, etc. Apparently, it is required in Puerto Rico, but I don't know if drivers have to enable it themselves or if the app knows where the driver is operating. Are you saying the rider can also turn it on all the time? If so, that's good - I've only ever it seen driver's request it (all in PR, and one in mainland US, everywhere else, no PIN).
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