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Comment by clpm4j | Hacker News Reader

Yes, they're actually awesome. 'Waymo' has replaced 'Uber' in my vocabulary, e.g. "Let's just Waymo there".

How much does the average trip go for distances such as your use case?

> How much does the average trip go for distances such as your use case?

They seem to undercut Uber and Lyft by a hair. Given the longer wait times, and lack of a need to tip, that seems fair. (In San Francisco, they undercut by a wider margin. But human ride shares are more expensive there for a variety of reasons.)

That's not my experience. I've rarely seen a comparably priced ride. They're usually at least 50% more expensive than Uber or Lyft.

> usually at least 50% more expensive than Uber or Lyft

Hmm, I used them this weekend and was comparing pricing. Waymo was cheaper. That said, I wasn’t riding during peak traffic. And in peak traffic, I’d vastly prefer a Waymo. So I get the premium pricing.

In my experience it seems that the price floor is higher, but the ceiling is lower. Short rides (~10 min) that might cost 8-9$ (before tip) on Uber / Lyft, cost $18-20 on Waymo. If I'm going to the other side of San Francisco (say, North Beach to Stonestown), it will be $33-35. I've never seen it in the $40s-50s as I often do with Uber / Lyft for long distance trips during surge pricing. But that's just anecdotal.

Why is that? Waymo has lower labor costs right?

Not if you count the billions that have been sank into developing the product. Also, there's no incentive to undercut market rate for rides, that's just leaving money on the table. Collusion but also not.

On average, within SF (say, a 3-4 mile trip), is typically ~$20. Peak times on Friday or Saturday evenings can definitely exceed $35, but I've yet to have any ride go above $50.

Does it matter if you enter with multiple people? Does the charge go up (whereas Uber/Lyft grants you 3+ seats by default)?

Doesn't matter, and the total is 4 people.

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