Waymo Plans Massive Robotaxi Service Area, But Not Massive Enough
Waymo Plans Massive Robotaxi Service Area, But Not Massive Enough
Waymo has asked to serve large regions in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Perhaps big enough for real experiments in car replacement, which is where robotaxis must go
"Waymo has filed a request to the California Public Utilities Commission to expand robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles region. In the SFBA, it grows from just San Francisco to the whole peninsula, all the way to Sunnyvale but not including Marin, the East Bay and Santa Clara/Cupertino/San Jose. The LA area includes everything north and west of Compton, but not the San Fernando valley."
This is massive I'm not really sure what the writer is on about with the title.
Waymo have been in the background making slow and steady progress for years. So much so most people probably don't even know the extend of their self driving (without a human behind the wheel) developments.
This could be the beginning of the big push to actual serious market infiltration.
While walking, cycling, electric mobility, and trains are a must for a healthy city they do run into problems. Mainly the last mile problem and unexpected journeys, self driving cars will make a huge impact on the health of cities, traffic and ease of getting around.
God forbid we have public transit instead of fucking cars everywhere. There's no need for buses or trains when we can spend huge amounts of energy to autonomously move two tons of metal for each and every individual that exists.
Humanity is not running to ruin. It's taking a car.
We need both.
Autonomous cars improve things over regular cars, and should reduce the need for parking. They might be able to be deployed quickly and can unblock changes to repurpose parking.
Transit and walkability are much more important for a healthy city but can take a very long time to change. As we improve those, we should be able to relegate autonomous cars to the suburbs, or last mile not yet served by transit
Autonomous cars improve things over regular cars, and should reduce the need for parking.
As long as they are not owned by private individuals and are actually shared. I can totally see people instead of parking their car, just having them circle around in traffic. It would be hilarious to watch in a morbid curiosity way though.
Yes.
But I also see this being more like a mini bus situation. 10 people to a car instead of 1.
If that then frees up traffic there is a lane for rail, that rail is easier to access from a larger area, would require no parking or planned transport at the destination.
Quite bluntly American cities are terrible, the big ones need more rail even NYC. Lots of places in Europe are identical. But this could be the shot in the arm that urban planners need, the change in politics and the landscape that could allow them to say "same proposal as last year. Can we build a train? ... did you just say yes? You fucking with me? Can we really build a much needed train here? ... Oh thank Christ"
I'd be curious to see any numbers on that. Uber and Lyft played the card of "but it's car sharing and thus reducing trafic" but in the end, it doesn't really change much, and sometimes even increase trafic.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/uber-lyft-traffic-congestion-car-ownership-study/
As someone that doesn't have a licence, never have driven a car and avoids them if possible, taxis (autonomous or not) are generally useless to me. They are still cars and they keep people dependent on cars.
In a city, people shouldn't need a taxi (read, a car) to get around. In urban areas, people can walk, bike or use public transit. And if you want to go from one city to another, one shouldn't also need a taxi (car) to get there.
I'm aware that this is kind of "utopist" and requires efforts to change things but, if the solution to wanting less cars is "cars but shared!", this is not a solution. It's just proof of failed policies. It will not encourage any change, just stagnation. Things will stay based on cars.... but autonomous... and electric (oh so green)! Oh and also, now big tech knows exactly where you're going, and when.
EDIT: And if robotaxis would be "part of the solution" for the last mile, why wouldn't a normal taxi already fulfil that role? We don't have enough? So we'd need more vehicles on the road, But autonomous? Why do they need to be autonomous? How come is the last mile such a huge problem for most people? Is walking or cycling a mile that difficult for most people? Is everyone carrying a 42" TV around?
I often see three Waymo cars driving down Bush Street in SF by themselves. It still surprises me every time.
Back when the cruise vehicles were still available, there used to be three of them constantly driving in front of my home. I think they were looping around the block waiting to be summoned.
It's the future.
Just need the three boobed woman NSFW
Three tits, that's awesome.
Well they’re better than the worst drivers but probably still below average compared to a human (N=3). They tend to be too conservative around cyclists even if there’s a physical barrier in between.
I actually think a lot of drivers are not conservative enough around cyclists so that sounds like an improvement.
But I don't know what they are like really. Maybe you are right.
I’m referring specifically to here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4tcez33PqbwmNpYB9?g_st=ic
There is a concrete divider between the bike lane and the street, so there should be no safety concerns. I assume this might get fixed at some point but you’re right it’s better to be conservative.
Must avoid Oakland at all costs
"Massive" maybe meaning population or impact, about 1/3 of CA's population is in that region