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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

#881

Post by alistairSH »

jdeibele wrote: post #788
alistairSH wrote: post #716

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 citie…

The parent post made the contention there are no other options.

And according to other comments here, the "fixed price" isn't actually true - it appears some ride-share apps will add fees at the conclusion of the ride.

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

#882

Post by vdqtp3 »

joshstrange wrote: post #873
ghaff wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 calle…

> Maybe if you lived in a bigger city the taxis were good

I lived in a suburb of San Diego around 2012, and I switched to Uber after I missed two flights for work because taxi's just wouldn't show up on time. I don't love the rideshare services but taxis were simply so bad that anything was better.

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

#883

Post by vdqtp3 »

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.…

> prevent space sharing between the ~2-3 social groups where intermingling means friction and fear.

The issue is not space sharing between social groups. I'm happy to share space with people of any ethnicity, skin color, sexual orientation, political leanings, dress code, economic status, educational level or "social cohorts". The issue is civil, polite people being forced to share space with rude, entitled, violent individuals.

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

#884

Post by jobs_throwaway »

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…

> Have you ever ridden in a "super car" (Ferrari, etc.) that also has very fast accel/braking? Do you experience the same?

No. Plenty of luxury vehicles but nothing sporty like a Ferrari.

> 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 streets? Is the accel/braking still strong enough to make you feel car sick?

Hard to say. If they focused on not hard braking I imagine it would not make me car sick. I have not tried FSD on regular streets. I think a major part of the problem is these are typically uber/lyft rides where the driver isn't focused on providing a smooth riding experience.

FWIW, I haven't experienced car sickness in Waymo rides that I've taken.

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

#885

Post by iwanttocomment »

gorfian_robot wrote: post #775
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…

for a while Austin had banned Uber/Lyft. do you know what happened to change that?

The Texas legislature enacted state-wide legislation that usurped the Austin fingerprinting requirement that caused Uber and Lyft to leave town.

https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/29/texas-gov-greg-abbot...

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

#886

Post by ldjkfkdsjnv »

Den_VR wrote: post #793
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"One of the most valuable companies on the planet is mismanaging its products" see the issue with that assertion?

Google mismanages an enormous number of things. Users, Customers, Products, Teams, Talent. You can observe this in your interactions with Google/Alphabet and in ex-googler post-mortems. They are amazingly valuable as a stock, as a business and as a collection of talent. That doesn’t entirely excuse failures of vision and leadership, let alone pricing. Edit: That said, I am inclined to believe that Alphabet pricing li…

They do poorly when you isolate some product, but if you look at their execution relative to their scale and number of employees, its exceptional. You have to see thats its all relative, google is a good big company.

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

#887

Post by sagarm »

harmmonica wrote: post #394
sagarm wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bike share programs already exist and are pretty popular in NYC. Self driving doesn't really seem necessary at that scale.

Can you expand on that? Why is it that a vehicle being bigger vs smaller is the distinction? I’m one person but I care about some combo of money/time/distance/comfort. If I could get a cheaper ride from say Houston up to the park rather than having to drive it myself the value prop to me is the same—I don’t have to drive. Heck if the seat on the bike was comfortable enough like a laid-back sport seat in a car I might…

Sounds like you might enjoy a recumbent bicycle.

For a "bike" to balance you need a certain level of physical/mental engagement. How much value are you really getting from the self driving aspect, even if it were feasible, at that point?

At some point smart-car esque self driving vehicles will likely be possible, but self-driving unenclosed two wheelers? Pointless IMO.

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

#888

Post by singleshot_ »

seb1204 wrote: post #409
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.

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.

A “professional driver” does not have the ability to rate me on a scale of one to five.

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

#889

Post by ghaff »

vdqtp3 wrote: post #882
joshstrange wrote: post #873

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 calle…

> Maybe if you lived in a bigger city the taxis were good I lived in a suburb of San Diego around 2012, and I switched to Uber after I missed two flights for work because taxi's just wouldn't show up on time. I don't love the rideshare services but taxis were simply so bad that anything was better.

I switched from shared ride services which were a PITA and then just just drove for a time which had a couple of issues. With my last job, I just started getting a private car which I used for both business and subsequent personal travel.

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

#890

Post by CMCDragonkai »

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.…

This is true. Public spaces require conformity. If the US wants a hyper-individualistic society, then the end result is everybody living in their own isolated pocket dimension simulation.
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