[ijustlovemath]

The difference is that the variable costs are much lower - just recharging the EV + any other incidentals, as opposed to having to pay a driver for every ride. That's why Uber never became profitable, because they had to share the fare. Waymo has higher up front costs, but if the cars are there, they have much more profitable fares.

[mechagodzilla]

Maybe - Waymo has to recharge, clean and maintain a fleet of cars that they own (and which are depreciating and likely have no resale value, at least at the moment) - Uber's drivers effectively use their wages to cover all of those costs. I'm curious how Waymo is handling all of the fleet maintenance, recharging, cleaning, etc, and how they plan to scale that infrastructure.

I also wonder how Waymo plans to handle 'surges' - they either have enough cars to handle peak demand, in which case many are idle much of the time (and thus not making money), or they build a fleet for the minimum/average, and let more elastic competitors cover surges (or it's just impossible to get one at rush hour anywhere). It really seems like Uber/Lyft/etc ought to have a better business model than this very centralized, capital-intensive approach, and they're seemingly incapable of earning a profit.

[minwcnt5]

I would bet on technology being able to handle peak demand better than a non-tech solution. They could pre-position vehicles better, incentivize pooling and transit connections, etc. And just like Ubers they could repurpose vehicles for other tasks (delivery, getting cleaned) in low demand times. But I'm sure there will still be surge pricing as you can't avoid demand spikes completely.

[cyberax]

EVs need very little complicated maintenance. At this point, batteries and electric motors are a rock-solid technology.

So you're left with occasional minor maintenance for mechanical issues like broken door handles or jammed windows, and also with interior cleaning.

Even this can in future be minimized by building a taxi-only car model. You can get rid of the steering wheel, instrument cluster, central console, and all the complicated plastic parts that go with all of this. You can just replace everything with durable and easily washable hard plastic, like seats on public transit.

Then make seats easily removable, and the interior becomes straightforward to clean (heck, you can even automate it).

[kaibee]

> Uber's drivers effectively use their wages to cover all of those costs. I'm curious how Waymo is handling all of the fleet maintenance, recharging, cleaning, etc, and how they plan to scale that infrastructure.

Probably large regional hubs that cars will drive themselves to for periodic maintenance (or get towed to if the vehicle becomes disabled). Much more potential to bring down total cost than the 'each driver does it themselves' model.

[xnx]

Exactly, cars currently return to a depot where they are charged and inspected.