Disclaimer: Nobody asked me to write this. Nobody paid me to write this. I’m simply a man who got into a car with no driver and lost his mind at how wild that is. We’re living in the future out here!
Some Background
So I recently took a trip out west, like my boy Fievel (kudos to you if you get that reference). I spent the past few days in San Francisco exploring Silicon Valley and the Bay Area for the first time. The highlight of the trip, even with all the noteworthy sights, ended up being something I hadn’t given a second thought to on the way there. Waymo.
Waymo is a fully autonomous ride-hailing service owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Which is something I only just learned, and honestly it explains a lot. Google has all the maps data one could ever dream of. No wonder Waymo is so good.
While in the area, I visited my employer’s offices in the region, stopped by the Googleplex and Apple Park (the famous spaceship campus), and hit a ton of Bay Area tourist spots. I didn’t get to go inside Google or Apple, but they have cool visitor centers, and I took plenty of pictures! Anyways, the topic at hand is Waymo, so let us remain focused.
Waymo Is Incredible
What word should I use to describe it? Incredible. Amazing. Outstanding. Remarkable. The experience of using Waymo is all of those things, but nothing demonstrates that better than the below recordings of my first few experiences with it. Check them out below. In reflection, I’m a little embarrassed at my childlike excitement, but given how insane it is that we now have fully autonomous self-driving cars in the real world, I’d say it’s warranted!
Now, I know if you live in San Francisco or one of the other cities that’s had Waymo for a while, you’re probably thinking “we been had that, what are you so excited for?” Fair. But America is big, the world is bigger, and Waymo isn’t in most places. So please, forgive those of us who are unable to remain nonchalant in the face of a technology once relegated to science fiction. Let us have our moment of giddy joy.
The thing is, I’d heard of Waymo for years. Literally a decade ago I was familiar with them. I love tech, I follow tech, I read the blogs, I’m in the communities. Waymo wasn’t new to me. But I’d never seen it live. I’d never experienced it, and now that I have, it’s literally science fiction made real. It feels surreal. Every time I got in one, I just couldn’t believe this was a thing.
I’m a lover of the poetic, epic, and regal sounding parts of the Bible, so I can’t resist sharing this passage that I think puts into words what I felt.
I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes have seen You.
Now of course, Job was talking about literally seeing God, and this is nothing even approaching that level, but still. For someone that has been aware of Waymo forever and joined in at times maybe thinking the hype was overblown, I have myself been blown away.
It’s as good as they claim it is. The hype is real. I know there’s plenty of prophecy about how knowledge shall increase but when you’re living through it, it’s like wow man. This is crazy.
It Dwarfs Uber and Lyft
If Waymo were in my city, I’d never use Uber or Lyft again. The prices are competitive, and the convenience of hopping in a car with complete and total privacy, control of the A/C and heat, control over the music, control over the amount of legroom, and above all just the peace of mind of being able to sit back and enjoy the road without any added minutiae, it’s unbeatable. As an introvert, I don’t think I’ve ever been so enamored with a technology as I am right now with fully autonomous self-driving (maybe the hype will pass who knows).
Furthermore, you have people who, for good reason, don’t feel safe getting into a car with a stranger, particularly one that is driving them to or from their place of living. Waymo solves that issue. It’s just the car man. Like, I can’t even put into words how crazy it is until you try it. You get into a car and it’s just you and that thing is DRIVING with nobody in it and it drives flawlessly. I felt completely and totally safe.
They’re Expanding
Some good news, Waymo is aggressively expanding. You can check out their latest expansion updates and their full rides map for the most current info, but here’s a snapshot of where things stand.
Waymo is currently offering fully autonomous rides in the following cities:
- Atlanta, GA (via Uber)
- Austin, TX (via Uber)
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- Phoenix, AZ
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA
And they’ve announced plans to expand to:
- Boston, MA
- Dallas, TX
- Denver, CO
- Detroit, MI
- Houston, TX
- Las Vegas, NV
- London, UK
- Nashville, TN
- Orlando, FL
- Sacramento, CA
- San Antonio, TX
- San Diego, CA
- Washington, DC
And they’re actively testing with manual drivers (meaning a human is in the car while the system learns the roads) in even more cities:
- Baltimore, MD
- Buffalo, NY
- Minneapolis, MN
- New Orleans, LA
- New York, NY
- Philadelphia, PA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Seattle, WA
- St. Louis, MO
- Tampa, FL
- Tokyo, Japan
Funny enough, St. Louis, a city I consider my true hometown, is on that testing list. It makes me genuinely happy to see it on there. I eventually moved to Charlotte, and I hope with all my heart they add us too. If any Waymo executives are reading this, the Queen City is ready. We’d welcome you with open arms. We’ve already got DoorDash delivering by drone, so we’re clearly a city that embraces the future.
At this moment, I feel like I want everyone everywhere to try Waymo. You don’t appreciate it until you do. We have fully autonomous self-driving cars. There’s no gimmick. There’s no “well, but.” There’s no gotcha. The car drives itself, and it does so safely, securely, and without any concerns. Technology man, what a wonderful thing!
