Re:California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF...
by s17n on Friday March 01, 2024 @07:13PM
(#39568472)
That's because the cars are all brand new Jaguars that are impeccably maintained. If Waymo succeeds in becoming a widely used service that is price competitive with Uber, the experience won't be this good forever.
Re:California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF...
by crawshaw on Friday March 01, 2024 @07:18PM
(#39568521)
This fancy a vehicle? Maybe not, though I don't see why they wouldn't maintain a premium brand of some sort.
More importantly: the fleet is owned and maintained by Waymo. So they can achieve a higher degree of consistency. It is not the fanciness I value, it is the consistency.
Put another way: I can get a fancy car and a good driver with Uber Black. I would rate my waymo experience slightly above Uber Black.
Re:California Approves Waymo Expansion to Los Angeles and SF...
by s17n on Friday March 01, 2024 @08:30PM
(#39568961)
Yeah, Uber used to just be what Uber Black is now, if you remember. I'm sure that both the consistency but moreso the average quality of Waymo will eventually decline (although the experience will of course always be more consistent than Uber). They aren't going to maintain a premium brand because they have billions of dollars of engineering costs that they need to amortize over the biggest possible pool of revenue.
Consider the distribution of Uber/Lyft drivers you have had. All the way from smooth driving, well-maintained car, through to erratic behavior and unpleasant environment. Imagine if the next time you got a driver you really like, you said "this driver only from now on" and that was the consistent experience you always got out of Uber/Lyft.
That is what Waymo is like. It is the same every time I get in. I do not have to think or adapt to a new environment. It is like sitting on my own couch at home.