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Glenn Mercer's avatar

Great stuff as always. My key question is less about robo-ridehail versus human-ridehail and more about robo-ridehail versus personal vehicle ownership. Human ridehail (Uber Lyft et al.) has made virtually zero inroads versus personal car ownership. (Yes, I know, everyone knows someone who gave up their car to just ridehail everywhere, but if we look at personal vehicles owned per capita in the US, the Number Not Go Down.) Will robo-ridehail do better in this regard? Or does war end before it even starts, as it were, as people just own their own personal AV?

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Harry Campbell's avatar

From TDD reader William P via email:

The assertiveness comment inspired this email. I've been using Waymo for the last 2 years in SF, almost exclusively other than airport rides. And just the other day I was in the passenger seat when my hunch that they've gotten more assertive was validated - we were approaching a light with the intent of making a red turn. Right before we got to the light, it turned from yellow to red. I figured Waymo would stop, even though the cars coming from the other way hadn't started moving yet. A moderately aggressive person slows down but doesn't stop and just takes the right turn 95% of the time. I was floored when the Waymo did the same thing. It seemed like a step change in Waymo's nuanced understanding as well as my riding experience.

Another great example - making a left on a green light, but not a green arrow. You used to get stuck for a couple of lights sometimes. Now the Waymo will start inching out and assert itself into the intersection to make the left.

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