Stephen Pang’s Post

Waymo begins offering robotaxi rides on San Francisco freeways to employees by Tim Fang via Home - CBS San Francisco ([Global] autonomous oracle) URL: https://ift.tt/URTPwBS Less than one week after expanding robotaxi service outside San Francisco, Waymo announced that its autonomous vehicles will begin using the city's freeways. The company announced on social media on Monday that the company's employees can take trips using freeways, following successful tests in Arizona. "After successful testing of our autonomous vehicles on Phoenix freeways, we're expanding our operations. Starting today, our employees will also have access to fully autonomous rides on San Francisco freeways," Waymo posted on X (formerly Twitter). After successful testing of our autonomous vehicles on Phoenix freeways, we're expanding our operations. Starting today, our employees will also have access to fully autonomous rides on San Francisco freeways. pic.twitter.com/DzGdEgkm1U — Waymo (@Waymo) August 12, 2024 In its post, the company touted significant time savings on a hyopthetical ride between Lake Merced and Oracle Park. Last week, Waymo announced the company would begin offering robotaxi rides beyond San Francisco to the Peninsula communities of Daly City, Broadmoor and Colma. In total, the company covers 55 square miles in the region. The move has been met with some opposition to leaders in San Mateo County, who said Waymo gave them little notice. Leaders on the Peninsula are backing a measure that would let local governments regulate autonomous vehicles. The company did not say when freeway trips would be offered to the public. CBS News Bay Area has reached out to Waymo for comment.

Is driverless car the future of transportation? I just had to ride with Waymo while I was visiting San Francisco! What a futuristic and unique experience – quiet and smooth. I wasn’t scared; quite the opposite – it felt safe 🙈. I would definitely take it again! A few facts about Waymo: Waymo is the world’s first fully autonomous ride-hailing service, and my first time trying it was unforgettable. The company has been around since 2017, and now operates in cities like Phoenix, LA, and San Francisco. They handle over 10,000 rides per week! There’s no driver, so no chit-chat, but you can see what the car "sees" on the screen in front of you. It was incredible watching it navigate the busy streets with ease. Would you ride in a driverless car? 🚘 #waymo #driverlesscars #sanfrancisco #futureoftransport #techinnovation #autonomousdriving

Waymo hits milestone of 150,000 paid autonomous trips a week (GOOG, GOOGL) Waymo announced that its Waymo One service has surpassed 150,000 paid trips and is now driving over one million fully autonomous miles each week. This milestone comes just two months after Waymo confirmed it had exceeded 100,000 trips per week. #GOOG #GOOGL #GOOGStock #GOOGLStock #Waymo #GoogleWaymo #AlphabetStock #GoogleStock $GOOG $GOOGL

🚗💨 Remember when self-driving cars felt like something out of a sci-fi movie? Well, the future is officially here, and it's cruising through the streets at full speed! Waymo, with its fleet of around 700 vehicles, isn’t just testing the waters—they’re fully diving in! They’ve become the only company in the U.S. offering driverless taxis that actually charge you for the ride. And they’re not stopping at just one city! After opening their service to the public in San Francisco back in June, Waymo has now rolled out to the San Francisco Peninsula and even parts of L.A. this month. Who would've thought we’d be hailing cabs with no drivers so soon? 🚖🤖 The future is moving fast, and I can't wait to see where we go next. Buckle up , it's going to be an exciting ride! https://lnkd.in/gwxexRP8 #SelfDrivingCars #AutonomousVehicles #Waymo #FutureOfTransport #SmartMobility #DriverlessCars #AIRevolution #FutureIsNow

Waymo (owned by behemoth Alphabet Inc.) has grown from 100k to 150k weekly paid trips over the past 2 months. Although only a super tiny fraction of all car trips globally (several tens of billions), the annual growth rate is massive (~700%) and they’re doing promising partnerships with both platforms (Uber) and car makers (Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars, etc.). In just a few years, they’ll likely have millions of weekly trips. As will other autonomous mobility providers (Tesla, Amazon, etc.). Both the S-curve adoption rate of autonomy and the economic ripple effect will be so much stronger than most people think. Part of the reason will be that a lot of folks want to skip personal car ownership as they don’t ”have to” own a car anymore, it’ll become a streaming service. Also because cars (vans) will become mobile shopping stores with much better cost-efficiency and higher revenues vs. regular stores, and enable the sharing economy (which currently is not working). Autonomy is a big deal, as it could completely redraw both mobility and retail from their cores. Alphabet seems quite well positioned. _ #Waymo #autonomousvehicles

Interesting to see that self driving autonomous ride hailing is now transitioning from POC to scaled and monetized services. And this happens about at the same pace in China, where Baidu’s Appolo Go service passed the threshold of 5 million paid trips (was at 75,000 trips a week last year) and the USA. With the first dedicated optimized vehicles to come soon, the industry will become mature in the near future.

Waymo’s ability to mostly stay clear of trouble, along with its steady geographical expansion and its investors’ deep pockets, has put the robo-taxi operation into a very good position. While other autonomous driving companies might be tempted to move too fast in order to justify themselves to their investors, Waymo’s situation as a mostly autonomous sister company to the cash-generating Google gives it the comfort to take a somewhat cautious pace of growth. https://lnkd.in/etpZ4UR7

🚗✨ In 10 years, what will change? What will stay the same? Traffic will still be here. Cars will still be taking us to places we’ve never been. But drivers? That might be a whole different story. 🤔 Dimitri Van Vossel shared this thought with us from the backseat of a Waymo—San Francisco’s fully driverless ride service that’s now open to everyone! 🚦 Waymo’s driverless fleet has already shown a reduction in accidents compared to traditional cars. With over 7.1 million autonomous miles driven, Waymo reported an 85% reduction in injury-related crashes and a 57% drop in police-reported incidents compared to human drivers. What will your daily commute look like in 10 years? This peek into the future of transportation is just one of the many innovations we’ll explore on our Spirit of the Valley tour in 2025.

Would you ride in a driverless car? I just had to ride with Waymo while in San Francisco! What a futuristic and unique experience – quiet and smooth. One of the most popular questions I got after the ride was if I was scared. I wasn’t scared; quite the opposite – it felt safe. Would you be scared? Here are a few facts about Waymo: ▪️Waymo is the world’s first fully autonomous ride-hailing service. ▪️The company has been around since 2017, and now operates in cities like Phoenix, LA, and San Francisco. ▪️They handle over 10,000 rides per week! ▪️There’s no driver, so no chit-chat, but you can see what the car “sees” on the screen in front of you. It was incredible watching it navigate the streets with ease. I’m convinced this is the future of transportation. Would you ride in a driverless car? 🚘 #waymo #driverlesscars #sanfrancisco #futureoftransport #techinnovation #autonomousdriving

Learn what it’s really like to ride in a Google Waymo, a driverless taxi navigating the busy streets of San Francisco. HINT: Once you get past the excitement, fear, and disbelief, it’s surprisingly calm. Watch my video and read about my first-hand account. #Waymo #AutonomousCars #FutureofTransportation https://lnkd.in/e-tW-fr4