"There are few limits to the service. The teen account must be connected to a parent or guardian, but once activated, teens can hail autonomous rides anywhere in Waymo’s service area in Nashville — and bring their friends along. Waymo told TechCrunch that teen account holders can bring up to three guests ages 13 to 17……… it may also be part of the appeal for parents who would rather their kids pile into a Waymo than in a vehicle driven by a teenager. "
Waymo’s charges are variable, so it’s hard to directly compare the costs of exclusively using it versus car ownership. However, for most young drivers, car ownership costs are probably north of $10k per year, perhaps nearer $15k. That means for the lighter/less frequent drivers, Waymo is probably cheaper. Plus, robotaxis are only going to get cheaper. The day will come when it will be the more economical option for almost all urban drivers.
Another plus point, especially for parents, is how much safer they are. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 24. What premium is there for avoiding the life-changing nightmare of your child dying in a traffic accident?
Once widespread robotaxis were a sci-fi hypothetical, but now it’s becoming real. If robotaxis are finally becoming widespread, why learn to drive at all? It will be interesting to see if there’s a falloff in the rate of driving tests among the young in Nashville.
car ownership costs are probably north of $10k per year, perhaps nearer $15k
I’d like to see the cost breakdown for how they came up with that number.
it is in their own interest to make their product look like the economical choice… so they’re probably using the average american new car payment (~ $750/mo) to help inflate the numbers, ignoring the fact that most teens don’t own a new car, or even own a car at all. that plus the cost of teen driver insurance on that new car (that the ‘bank’ owns) will easily get over $10k a year. the ‘nearer’ to $15k would be adding fuel, licensing, and other routine costs.
Anything to deny the public access to bus and rail transit.
If you squint real hard, it’s a bus. In Korea they are running buses that have no fixed routes, can be hailed at bus stops, responsive to demand. Buses can be reimagined too!
If you squint real hard, it’s a bus.
Sure. A bus that caps out at five people.
A bus without set routes that you hail and only holds a few people is not a bus. It’s a taxi
You can say it’s both, and rideshare too. The vehicle is 15 seats, slightly slower than taxi because it make more stops and take more people, and only stop at bus stops, but faster than ordinary buses because it does not make as many stops, only when requested. Also much cheaper than taxis (like < $2 per ride). I feel it is a nice balance, more choices is always better. Way better for society than private car (1 passenger per ride) or taxi (2 passengers per ride)
Kids would skip driving tests if there was good public transit.
Kids are already skipping driving tests even without good public transit. In comparison to when I was growing up, kids these days dont start driving as soon as possible anymore. According to a study by the Federal Highway Administration, far less than half of 16-19 year olds had drivers licenses in 2021. Assumedly it has only continued to decline in the last 5 years. Probably 1/3rd of eligible young people drive
They put restrictions on your license that make it useless, and families can’t afford cars for their Teens, and even working adults can’t pay for cars
I know plenty of people even older than me who never had the need for a drivers license or a car cause they can do everything by bike and train.
New York. So many people don’t own cars or have a driver’s license because public transit is a way of life.
I have doubts that it’s that much safer, given there are other drunk morons waiting to crash into a waymo at every turn.
This is just a ploy to get a generation hooked on Robo taxi services instead of learning how to drive
Nothing wrong with that, lots of people in NYC don’t drive. This probably isn’t as cheap as a subway but would serve a purpose
Given this is in Nashville and I’m guessing the public transport there is not great, they could be trying to take over that space
Public transport in nashville is basically non-existent, there’s a few busses that run downtown during the day, and allegedly there’s a single commuter train that goes back and forth in one direction with like 3 stops but I’ve never actually seen it in action.
Gotta get beta testers somehow…
Plus, robotaxis are only going to get cheaper.
Right, just like how everything else has been getting cheaper and cheaper these few decades.
The strategy of using Investor money to subsidize while building a user base doesn’t do wonders for price drops.
