Since there’s a lot of interest in robotaxis on this board, I thought I’d share my recent experience with the Waymo service in Phoenix, AZ.
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As most readers know, the Jaguar based Waymo taxis are geofenced; I assume the entire service area is mapped into memory, meaning the vehicle “knows” every street and intersection in town (someone will correct me if I’m wrong). I had the occasion to use the service 4 times with 3 travel companions. Four average-sized adults fit comfortably, 3 in the rear and 1 in the passenger seat. Some random observations:
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The ride never failed to get us safely to our destination. It managed traffic, traffic signals, and construction zones flawlessly, identifying the orange cones and signs and responding satisfactorily.
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Waymo never took the expressway, even when it would have been shorter and/or quicker, I assume by design. This was ok by me as I would have been uncomfortable at speeds over 45 mph. The Waymo always observed the speed limit faithfully as one would expect.
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The one time the Waymo “failed”, we found ourselves following a city bus on a busy 4-lane thoroughfare. The bus stopped in front of us at a bus-stop immediately after traversing a busy intersection with our destination about 20 yards beyond. The taxi tried to pass the bus but was thwarted several times by the heavy traffic in the left lane. I joked that by the time the taxi managed to change lanes, the bus would be moving again, which is exactly what happened. The bus now shielded us from making the right-turn into our destination and the Waymo continued down the street for another 2 city blocks before it could return to the right lane and “find” a convenient side street to pull over and drop us off (in front of a self-proclaimed “biker bar”, LOL). We ended up walking the 2 blocks back to our destination, overall not a big deal.
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The second unusual event occurred when we were using the service to return to the airport to fly home. We discovered a wallet in the front seat, complete with cash, credit cards, and identification. My companion contacted customer service using the information in the Waymo app, and the live human on the other end (an Indian call center) instructed us to leave the wallet in the cup holder and she would instruct the vehicle to return headquarters after it dropped us off. I can only assume the rightful owner got his wallet back.
Overall, an enjoyable and novel experience, although it’s not a model for unlimited, go-anywhere driving as discussed many times on this board. We all agreed that the lack of a human driver had an upside - no need to tip, and no concerns about the skill, integrity, or state of mind of said driver.
