Autonomous vehicles and robotaxis will affect car ownership, but how much?

[Magna-Carta]

Always see plenty of robotaxis in San Francisco but have never used them given public transportation. Has a place in urban core areas, however even urban people would need to have complementing rental vehicles available for traveling to distant and rural destinations that are much less expensive than today.

After reading some comments online, I came across one from late 2023 that mentioned fares for a Waymo Autonomous Taxi ride in San Francisco. According to a customer, the ride included a base fare of $9.52, a per-mile charge of $1.66, a per-minute charge of $0.30, and a city congestion surcharge of 2%.

Using MS Excel, I calculated that a 5 minute ride at an average speed of 30 mph would cover 2.5 miles and cost a total of $21.24, which averages out to $4.25 per mile.

I also read that Waymo taxis in San Francisco have been subject to vandalism, both inside and outside the vehicles. On one occasion, a taxi was damaged from the outside while a paying customer was inside. On another, a woman reported that a man deliberately stood in front of the taxi to make it stop, signaling that he wanted her phone number. She took a photo of him.

It all seems very off putting.

 

[Magna-Carta]

TV journalist documents wild ride inside Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco.​

I wonder what improvements have been made since this video?

Quote, "I wish I could talk to the driver!"

 

[bobcat]

TV journalist documents wild ride inside Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco.​

I wonder what improvements have been made since this video?

Quote, "I wish I could talk to the driver!"

To address the question, apparently quite a lot. That video was from over 2 years ago when Waymo first started in SF, and yes they did have some glitches, as any new service provider experiences.

Since then, there has been over 10 million paid rides, which shows a strong demand, suggesting that riders are increasingly comfortable choosing autonomous options over traditional ones. Also, their expansion indicates both operational success, rider interest, and satisfaction.

After over 50 million miles driven, there were only 3 serious injuries, none of which were the fault of Waymo. One was from an accident in the other lanes that was pushed into the Waymo lane, and another was when they were clipped from behind, and another from a driver who ran a red light. Thats from data from 2024. Results for 2025 aren't in yet.

I don't think it's for everyone, but as far as safety, personally I think I would trust it over another driver because of human limitations. When we pull out of a side street with cross traffic, we have to turn back and forth to see where an opening is, and it can be difficult sometimes if it's a busy street. However, a Waymo car is already looking both ways at once, calculating the speed of the other cars, and knows when it's safe to proceed.

Likewise, if another vehicle accidentally merges into our lane, we have to check our side mirror before moving over to another lane. An autonomous vehicle can instantly move over because it has already been monitoring the other lane. It has eyes everywhere, all at once. No system is perfect, but I can certainly see some safety advantages.