A WAYMO DRIVE TO THE FUTURE?

An unexpected ride has me seduced by a driver less "ride share"

I was coming out of a meeting in Los Angeles when my business partner, a very adventurous soul, asked if I’d ever taken a ride in a Waymo. Thinking it was just a new rival to Uber and Lyft, I told him “No.” He said “You’re gonna love it” and explained it was a driver less car. Both curious and apprehensive, I told him “Bring it on.”

A bit of backstory is necessary here. I do not dive. I’ve probably been behind the wheel three times in my life. I just never took to driving and, growing up in mass transit heavy New York, I didn’t need to. Always thought it was something I’d get around to, but I never did. Reports of driver less cars have been in the news for decades, though I always thought I’d be very old or even dead before these vehicles ever hit the road.

Well, the future is now. As I stood on Robertson Boulevard, a white Jaguar with circular protrusions on top and spinning sensors front and back and all four corners, rolled up to the curb. My friend pushed a button on his phone. The door handles popped out. I got in the passenger seat and watched as the steering wheel guided us into traffic. We enjoyed a smooth journey for the next forty minutes. No awkward conversations with the driver. No smells of take out food or florid air freshener. No having to negotiate over the music. From the backseat my friend selected the jazz station as we moved gracefully through LA traffic.

Via a screen in the dash board I could see a half a block in front, a half a block behind and both ways on any upcoming intersection. Waymo was exceedingly careful, always a car length behind drivers in front of us, and never going above 45 mph. It doesn’t yet go on freeways, so we stayed on street routes. If Waymo catches on — its already in several car friendly Western cities — it could eventually replace ride share drivers. After that first trip I’ve blissfully used it several times, though it doesn’t cover all of Los Angeles, which suggest there are still limits to where it can go. I’m still not sure how these cars would work on the streets of a pedestrian heavy East coast city, which would entail a lot more stopping and starting than LA does. Moreover there are serious economic implications. Ride shares overwhelmingly employ men, who either drive full time or part time to supplement other work. That’s thousands of jobs for working class folks that’ll disappear, a whole system of income gone. Talk about disruption.

Based on the feedback I’ve gotten so far a lot of folks are skeptical of Waymo’s safety and worried over the legal implications. For example, if there’s an accident is the rider libel? What if the car goes rouge and decides not to let you out? What if the car is attacked or hit? Lots to figure out. But, at least for me, its been a very seductive experience. Would my non driving self contemplate buying a Waymo like car in the future? Hell yeah.