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Comment by netinstructions | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how many people are upset that the vehicles had to drop them off in a valid passenger load/unload zone as opposed to the usual Lyft / Uber tactic of parking in a no parking / no stopping zone, bike lane, crosswalk, etc because it's most convenient for the drivers and passengers (at the safety and expense of everyone else sharing the space)...

That quote at the end:

> I guess Lyft has me spoiled. I like getting dropped off in front of the place im going too [sic] not just in the parking lot....

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Cyclist here. In my experience, the majority of the time a driver stops or parks in the bike lane in an urban area in the US (e.g., I live in Austin), there's a legal parking/stopping spot within a reasonable walking distance, often within 50 to 100 feet. (If this isn't true where you live, consider the difference in the location. There are probably exceptions too. I'm told that legal parking isn't typically close in SF.)

Then again, my idea of "reasonable walking distance" seems longer than most people's. Having spoken to many drivers who have parked in the bike lane, I'm amazed by how negatively some have reacted to me recommending that they park as little as 50 feet away. In some cases the non-bike-lane spot is closer but the convenience of pulling to the side of the road rather than doing a more complicated maneuver seems irresistible.

If Waymo follows the law, good for them. Makes me more likely to be a customer of theirs in the future.

I often see waymo vans near San Antonio and El Camino in Mountain View. It's kind of a nightmare drive for all parties. Curbside parking is allowed, there are no demarcated bike lanes, and much of the road is in suboptimal condition. There is often construction going along sidewalks and buildings, and uber dropoffs are common. You occasionally see cyclists, though I suspect most stick to a side street.

What I suspect people are complaining about is that Waymo doesn't do curbside dropoffs at locations with a parking lot -- not common biking routes. I bet Waymo doesn't have the data to know whether a curb is painted yellow, blue, or red, and just avoids them, while a Lyft driver would probably put on hazards and drop people off at yellow curbs and bus stops.

Mountain View isn’t even close to a challenging environment. I would like to see Waymo try SF on the same routes as Cruise.

In the right light, this is a competitive advantage for Waymo. Prove that it's possible to have a ride hailing app that strictly follows municipal stopping/parking rules, and then encourage cities to start strictly enforcing those rules and ticketing offenders. Self-driving cars would presumably be better than humans at following those rules (at least, if we're imagining a world where self-driving cars work safely and consistently).

A somewhat ironic form of regular regulatory capture, in that it should have already been captive...

I have raised this point many times before.

Uber/Lyft drivers break the law dozens of times a day. In fact the entire experience is predicated on their ability to pick you up/drop you off in places they shouldn't e.g. out the front of your house.

I guess self driving cars will be closer to Uber Pool in terms of experience.

It seems like there's an overall issue where people feel they can't do anything if the car takes a weird route or drops them off in the wrong place.

Another comment mentioned in the story says the car skipped the drop-off location and inched passed a bus stop, and other people mentioned inefficient routing.

I don't know how the system works, so this might be user error of some kind, but plenty of people are not going to want to get in a taxi if they feel like they have no control over where it's going or where they can get out.

This is one of the issues with machines vs. people. For an able-bodied person, like I am most of the time, sure I'm fine with being dropped off half a block away. The driver may ask me and I'll be "fine." If someone is using a walker--not so much.

I have to believe the last block or two problem will be a big issue with self-driving whenever it eventually arrives.

It’s mainly a different lobbying tactic:

- Uber and Lyft and more toe-stepping and will encourage their contractors to paint outside the line, deal with the consequence once the administration has caught up with them and is presented with the fait-accompli that this is voters’ expectations now.

- Google/Waymo has better relationships with local authorities and can obtain the permit to drop people off after they’ve proven they are playing within the line — and can wait for, and eventually finance urban furniture changes.

Both use people’s expectations, but differently.

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