Waymo has quietly been (metaphorically) killing it. There's seriously multiple places on earth now where you can honest to god call a fully autonomous vehicle with your phone, which will pick you...
Waymo has quietly been (metaphorically) killing it. There's seriously multiple places on earth now where you can honest to god call a fully autonomous vehicle with your phone, which will pick you up and drive you to your destination.
I wonder how they handle knowing when to return to base for cleaning? Uber drivers talk about drunk passengers who vomit. There was an article about how people in San Francisco are having sex in...
I wonder how they handle knowing when to return to base for cleaning? Uber drivers talk about drunk passengers who vomit. There was an article about how people in San Francisco are having sex in the cars.
Yikes. I’m hoping for a combination of user reporting and aggressive banning to help prevent this? I use a lot of public transit and it really bums me out when people make the experience worse for...
Yikes. I’m hoping for a combination of user reporting and aggressive banning to help prevent this? I use a lot of public transit and it really bums me out when people make the experience worse for everyone in various ways. But particularly any form of littering, or god forbid bodily fluids, is just so frustratingly avoidable if people generally gave an iota of a shit about the people around them. I’d hate to see Waymo plagued by this as well.
I think some people just live like this. Like, if I’m puking, thats as bad as my night gets. The night is over when I puke. For some people the night is not over when they puke. They’ll drink...
I think some people just live like this.
Like, if I’m puking, thats as bad as my night gets. The night is over when I puke.
For some people the night is not over when they puke. They’ll drink until they puke up their dinner, feel better, and then keep going maybe with a different poison.
For those people puke is just part of the night and they’re not really aware of how they might be affecting others cause they’re so drunk.
I think the real solution here is computer vision. They already have internal cameras. If they had infrared it shouldn’t be hard to detect warm liquid left behind.
I think the real solution here is computer vision. They already have internal cameras. If they had infrared it shouldn’t be hard to detect warm liquid left behind.
I agree with you, but also it might be hard to differentiate between a warm seat because someone was sitting in it and a urine-soaked seat. Edge cases like someone peeing themselves should not...
I agree with you, but also it might be hard to differentiate between a warm seat because someone was sitting in it and a urine-soaked seat. Edge cases like someone peeing themselves should not prevent any progress from being made, but detecting everything may be harder than expected.
There is also developer prioritization. Should developer time be spent on creating an automated system to check cleanliness of the interior or should it be spent making the self-driving algorithm safer? Personally I would rather the time and money go towards safer driving algorithms, but I am biased since I am strongly against Tesla making everyone on the road beta testers for their self-driving features (especially after them removing Lidar to save money). I would say that Waymo appears to be developing self-driving in a more conservative manner that I trust their self-driving development process more than Tesla's.
They already have a perfect safety record. And adding more people to the self driving team will have diminishing returns. It's easier to go wider and cover more edge cases without adding to...
They already have a perfect safety record. And adding more people to the self driving team will have diminishing returns. It's easier to go wider and cover more edge cases without adding to communication overhead.
They're only in warm regions now. I suppose most of their efforts right now are on handling snow and ice.
The company announced today that its ridehailing app Waymo One will now be available 24/7 to certain customers across a 27-square-mile service area in California that includes Mountain View, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and parts of Sunnyvale.
...
Initially, Waymo’s robotaxis will only be available on an invite-only basis to a select group of Waymo One customers whose zip codes are within the service area. The company will gradually add more riders over time [...]
I can’t wait until they’re reliably cheaper and faster than Uber. When I use it off peak hours the experience has been great minus a few minor hiccups (due to overly cautious driving) that I’m...
I can’t wait until they’re reliably cheaper and faster than Uber. When I use it off peak hours the experience has been great minus a few minor hiccups (due to overly cautious driving) that I’m sure will get better over time.
I feel bad that it will inevitably put app drivers out of work, but I’ve had so many terrible experiences with Uber / Lyft drivers that I’m very ready to stop using those apps altogether when that’s feasible.
Honestly I'm pretty sure most Uber/Lyft driving simply isn't sustainable. People put insane wear and tear on their personal vehicles and mostly don't account for it. The ridesharing companies take...
Honestly I'm pretty sure most Uber/Lyft driving simply isn't sustainable. People put insane wear and tear on their personal vehicles and mostly don't account for it. The ridesharing companies take a massive slice of the proceeds, and don't even offer health insurance for drivers who put in 40 hours a week. Some drivers get lucky and come out ahead; most massively overestimate their financial well-being and stability. Feels a bit like gambling with extra steps. So maybe we're better off if these predatory jobs no longer exist?
Nearly every time I've been in a rideshare car, it's a new luxury vehicle. Do people cancel rides if it's not? Or give them poor reviews? I don't understand how it's possible to pay for a luxury...
Nearly every time I've been in a rideshare car, it's a new luxury vehicle. Do people cancel rides if it's not? Or give them poor reviews? I don't understand how it's possible to pay for a luxury vehicle on rideshare income.
I think it's a combination of you're more likely to get a 5 star review in a luxury car, and certain luxury cars let them do Uber Black when people request it, which the margins are way better on.
I think it's a combination of you're more likely to get a 5 star review in a luxury car, and certain luxury cars let them do Uber Black when people request it, which the margins are way better on.
Hoping it doesn't just follow the same enshittification spiral that Uber/Lyft did, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe they won't be able to boogeymen the contractors anymore for the cost of a...
Hoping it doesn't just follow the same enshittification spiral that Uber/Lyft did, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe they won't be able to boogeymen the contractors anymore for the cost of a ride, but I imagine we'll get excuses about regulations or cost of batteries, etc.
Well, they have no close competitors, so I would absolutely bet on it. The only way this doesn't turn into an exercise to see how much they can gouge prices onces they eliminate competition from...
Well, they have no close competitors, so I would absolutely bet on it.
The only way this doesn't turn into an exercise to see how much they can gouge prices onces they eliminate competition from human drives is if the robotaxi field gets some more players involved or we see some regulation (lol).
Here in Austin, they just recently killed off the Waymo One app AFAIK and added Waymos to Uber. You can switch a toggle saying you're okay with a Waymo and you might get one, but maybe just get a...
Here in Austin, they just recently killed off the Waymo One app AFAIK and added Waymos to Uber. You can switch a toggle saying you're okay with a Waymo and you might get one, but maybe just get a regular old Uber. Seems... less nice.
The article mentions previously in that region it was only available to Waymo staff. The headline should be about it opening up to an invite only process to the general public for that region...
The article mentions previously in that region it was only available to Waymo staff. The headline should be about it opening up to an invite only process to the general public for that region instead of it being 24hr operation.
Waymo has quietly been (metaphorically) killing it. There's seriously multiple places on earth now where you can honest to god call a fully autonomous vehicle with your phone, which will pick you up and drive you to your destination.
I wonder how they handle knowing when to return to base for cleaning? Uber drivers talk about drunk passengers who vomit. There was an article about how people in San Francisco are having sex in the cars.
They don’t. I’ve gotten into a Waymo before that had vomit inside. I had to call support to let them know. They gave me a $40 ride credit.
Yikes. I’m hoping for a combination of user reporting and aggressive banning to help prevent this? I use a lot of public transit and it really bums me out when people make the experience worse for everyone in various ways. But particularly any form of littering, or god forbid bodily fluids, is just so frustratingly avoidable if people generally gave an iota of a shit about the people around them. I’d hate to see Waymo plagued by this as well.
What’s worse is the offenders got out right in front of me and let me get in.
Wow, that is awful. If you’ve messed up that bad you should at least have the decency to warn the next person.
I think some people just live like this.
Like, if I’m puking, thats as bad as my night gets. The night is over when I puke.
For some people the night is not over when they puke. They’ll drink until they puke up their dinner, feel better, and then keep going maybe with a different poison.
For those people puke is just part of the night and they’re not really aware of how they might be affecting others cause they’re so drunk.
I think the real solution here is computer vision. They already have internal cameras. If they had infrared it shouldn’t be hard to detect warm liquid left behind.
I agree with you, but also it might be hard to differentiate between a warm seat because someone was sitting in it and a urine-soaked seat. Edge cases like someone peeing themselves should not prevent any progress from being made, but detecting everything may be harder than expected.
There is also developer prioritization. Should developer time be spent on creating an automated system to check cleanliness of the interior or should it be spent making the self-driving algorithm safer? Personally I would rather the time and money go towards safer driving algorithms, but I am biased since I am strongly against Tesla making everyone on the road beta testers for their self-driving features (especially after them removing Lidar to save money). I would say that Waymo appears to be developing self-driving in a more conservative manner that I trust their self-driving development process more than Tesla's.
They already have a perfect safety record. And adding more people to the self driving team will have diminishing returns. It's easier to go wider and cover more edge cases without adding to communication overhead.
They're only in warm regions now. I suppose most of their efforts right now are on handling snow and ice.
They're the market leader, but I wonder whether they are profitable anywhere yet?
From the article:
...
I can’t wait until they’re reliably cheaper and faster than Uber. When I use it off peak hours the experience has been great minus a few minor hiccups (due to overly cautious driving) that I’m sure will get better over time.
I feel bad that it will inevitably put app drivers out of work, but I’ve had so many terrible experiences with Uber / Lyft drivers that I’m very ready to stop using those apps altogether when that’s feasible.
Honestly I'm pretty sure most Uber/Lyft driving simply isn't sustainable. People put insane wear and tear on their personal vehicles and mostly don't account for it. The ridesharing companies take a massive slice of the proceeds, and don't even offer health insurance for drivers who put in 40 hours a week. Some drivers get lucky and come out ahead; most massively overestimate their financial well-being and stability. Feels a bit like gambling with extra steps. So maybe we're better off if these predatory jobs no longer exist?
Nearly every time I've been in a rideshare car, it's a new luxury vehicle. Do people cancel rides if it's not? Or give them poor reviews? I don't understand how it's possible to pay for a luxury vehicle on rideshare income.
I think it's a combination of you're more likely to get a 5 star review in a luxury car, and certain luxury cars let them do Uber Black when people request it, which the margins are way better on.
Uber offers lease options to drivers. I don't see how it's profitable, but people choose that option.
Hoping it doesn't just follow the same enshittification spiral that Uber/Lyft did, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe they won't be able to boogeymen the contractors anymore for the cost of a ride, but I imagine we'll get excuses about regulations or cost of batteries, etc.
Well, they have no close competitors, so I would absolutely bet on it.
The only way this doesn't turn into an exercise to see how much they can gouge prices onces they eliminate competition from human drives is if the robotaxi field gets some more players involved or we see some regulation (lol).
Here in Austin, they just recently killed off the Waymo One app AFAIK and added Waymos to Uber. You can switch a toggle saying you're okay with a Waymo and you might get one, but maybe just get a regular old Uber. Seems... less nice.
When were they available before?
The article mentions previously in that region it was only available to Waymo staff. The headline should be about it opening up to an invite only process to the general public for that region instead of it being 24hr operation.