[fullshark]

Even if it's safe...what's the short term benefit for riders beyond curiosity? Presumably cheaper fares + more throughput but the math is not obvious to me that owning a fleet of robotaxis will be a lucrative business to be in anytime soon, even if you are the only robotaxi company in town.

Seems like they need to license this tech to have it payoff.

[adgjlsfhk1]

cheaper fares is a really big deal. if you can deliver the same service 30% cheaper with 20% higher profit margins, that's massive. driver pay is a significant component of cost so cutting it is pretty massive.

[fullshark]

I guess, but if I'm getting a taxi, replacing a human with a computer is not a huge benefit to me, as I'm already not driving. If I'm driving myself to work every day, replacing that repetitive and boring task with a computer is a huge user benefit and thus I'd be more willing to pay and at a higher price for the tech.

I just think that's the only real way to make this thing pay off. Also potentially it might work for long haul trucking.

[adgjlsfhk1]

the benefit to the user isn't the computer, it's lower cost. the bushes model makes sense because you can lower user cost while increasing profit

[spankalee]

The benefit absolutely is the safer computer driver. I'd pay more for that.

[ghaff]

Maybe? Not that I use Uber/Lyft/taxis much but, when I do, I of course prefer them to be cheaper but +/- 30% pricing pretty much wouldn't affect if I take them or not. It's still a significant premium relative to driving myself at home and, if I'm traveling, I may not have much of a choice.

[rafaelero]

> but +/- 30% pricing pretty much wouldn't affect if I take them or not

But it's enough to prefer Waymo over Uber and that's all it takes.

[notatoad]

if +/-30% pricing isn't significant, then the benefit isn't lower fares, it's higher profits for the company operating the cars. either way you slice it, not having to pay drivers would be a significant win for a taxi company.

[ghaff]

Not necessarily if the technology (both development and hardware cost) to replace the drivers costs enough. I don't doubt it will get there someday but Waymo certainly isn't making money off current riders.

[Zigurd]

> Seems like they need to license this tech to have it payoff.

Seems like that's the plan. Volvo and some other car OEMs are using Android on the dashboard. A total package of infotainment, autonation, and the cloud services behind the in-vehicle systems is a likely destination for this and other products than can be sold into cars at the OEM or end-user level.

[lozenge]

License it to who? If they prove the model then investors will be lining up to give them the capital to expand.

[fullshark]

Car manufacturers and trucking companies.