# Waymo’s Own Ridesharing Fleet is Going Live Soon



## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)

*Alphabet's Waymo is testing its new ride-sharing platform, which should become available for the masses soon.

The Chrysler Pacifica is one car of choice for Waymo's service.

Waymo's real threat to Uber is that it will offer self-driving cars. 
*
_Business Insider, February 15, 2018_

Lost in all of the headlines about lower advertising margins, a marketwide sell-off, and its lawsuit against Uber, *Alphabet *management made a rather exciting announcement regarding self-driving-car unit Waymo on its last earnings call. Combined with the current lawsuit, these recent events could signal big trouble for the still-private Uber, and potentially very good news for Alphabet shareholders. Here's what you need to know.

*A Waymo app*
On the recent earnings call, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat announced that Waymo will be releasing its own Waymo-branded ridesharing app later this year. The company had been testing its early rider program in Phoenix throughout 2017, but apparently, it's now ready to take the next great leap forward to a full-fledged Waymo service for the masses.

What also may have gone unnoticed was a January news item that Waymo had ordered "thousands" of Chrysler Pacifica minivans from *Fiat Chrysler*, which is the car Waymo used in the 100-vehicle early rider program. The order signals that Waymo is ready for widespread deployment, with Waymo CEO John Krafcik announcing, "with the world's first fleet of fully self-driving vehicles on the road, we've moved from research and development to operations and deployment."

This announcement is further evidence of Waymo's overall lead in self-driving cars, especially regarding safety. In January, the state of California released its self-driven-miles data for the 12-month reporting period ended last November. The results showed Waymo as the clear leader, with over 352,000 miles driven in California, representing 70.3% of the self-driven miles in the state -- a huge lead over the 131,000 miles driven (26.16%) by second-place *General Motors*' self-driving unit Cruise Automation.

Not only did Waymo score more miles, but its disengagement rate fell to 0.18 per thousand miles, down from 0.20 in 2016. For reference, a disengagement occurs when a human monitor has to assume control of the autonomous vehicle. Waymo's figure was also well below GM-Cruise, which scored a 0.8 disengagement rate, though GM claimed this was a huge 1400% improvement from 2016, which, admittedly, is also impressive.

*Bad news for Uber*
The recent announcements could portend trouble for Uber. If the future of ridesharing is self-driving, I'm not sure why anyone would opt for an Uber self-driving service over a Waymo service or even a Cruise service for that matter. Even if Uber were able to come out with its own self-driving features, new competition from well-funded tech companies would spell trouble for the company, which is still unprofitable, according to its financial releases.

And now, with the Waymo-Uber court trial underway, the story may be getting worse. If Uber is found to have violated Waymo's intellectual property rights by hiring away a former Waymo engineer accused of illegally taking thousands of Waymo documents, it could halt Uber's self-driving aspirations indefinitely. In fact, even though Uber is the dominant ridesharing brand right now, a negative outcome at trial could potentially be a mortal wound for the company.

*Where are the others?*
Some may be wondering where *Tesla *and *Apple* fit into the California data. Tesla reported zero actual miles but claimed that it had "shadow tested" its vehicles "via simulation, in laboratories, on test tracks, and on public roads in various locations around the world," and can also gather data from its non-self-driving cars on the road today.

Apple may also be engaging in extensive off-the-radar testing, which would fit in with the company's secretive tradition. In December, I wrote about a breakthroughApple researchers have made in self-driving sensor technology, despite the small amount of road-testing it had done. In addition, due to Apple's strong brand, it doesn't necessarily have to be first to market or the lowest-cost provider; after all, it wasn't the first smartphone-maker.

*Google is getting interesting*
While Alphabet's stock has done well over the past year, it has actually lagged its fellow FANGs. However, with Waymo potentially taking off and its Cloud platform showing the fastest growth of any public cloud player, Alphabet's non-advertising businesses may become much more meaningful in the year ahead. Investors should take note.

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-just-made-an-announcement-that-should-make-uber-very-nervous-2018-2


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

Let me know when they end up in major cities and/or where it rains.....you know, places where taxi rides are in actual demand


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

Trump Economics said:


> *Alphabet's Waymo is testing its new ride-sharing platform, which should become available for the masses soon.
> 
> The Chrysler Pacifica is one car of choice for Waymo's service.
> 
> ...


This is nonsense. Delete this post. iheartuber has numerous vaunted reasons why self driving cars will never happen.


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

Sir, I never said SDCs will never happen. I said it will take a WHILE before a SDC taxi service could get to the point where they rival Uber. And maybe it may even “never” happen. Yes, there are many reasons for this, many reasons that any sane person would consider valid.

But we wait, we see. April 30 buddy

Tick tock


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## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)




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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> Let me know when they end up in major cities and/or where it rains.....you know, places where taxi rides are in actual demand


And the goal post moving begins. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the United States.


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

tomatopaste said:


> And the goal post moving begins. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the United States.


suburb of phoenix my friend. they are not driving the streets of phoenix.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> suburb of phoenix my friend. they are not driving the streets of phoenix.


They just ordered thousands more Chrysler Pacificas, they will be soon.


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

tomatopaste said:


> They just ordered thousands more Chrysler Pacificas, they will be soon.


keep on dreaming gregster.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> keep on dreaming gregster.


Let's recap, shall we?

Waymo orders thousands more self driving mini vans.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/0...lf-driving-cars-orders-thousands-of-minivans/

Waymo CEO: "We've moved from research and development to operations and deployment"
Waymo is approved on Jan. 24 to operate as a transportation network company (TNC) in Arizona.
https://qz.com/1208897/alphabets-wa...rizona-that-could-directly-compete-with-uber/


Vaunted UP community continues to scream: LA LA LA LA LA.


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

Again, let me know when they move into a city with actual weather conditions.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> Again, let me know when they move into a city with actual weather conditions.


You mean like Moscow?

Yandex, the Russian search giant, recently conducted its first successful test of a self-driving car in Moscow. It's significant mostly because it's proof that autonomous vehicles can operate in harsh, snowy conditions.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/16/17020096/self-driving-car-yandex-winter-russia


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

tomatopaste said:


> You mean like Moscow?
> 
> Yandex, the Russian search giant, recently conducted its first successful test of a self-driving car in Moscow. It's significant mostly because it's proof that autonomous vehicles can operate in harsh, snowy conditions.
> https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/16/17020096/self-driving-car-yandex-winter-russia


nah like NYC, boston, or seattle. you know, the big cities with real traffic, horrible road conditions, insane pedestrians, and inclement weather.

from your own article: "Operating self-driving cars in wintery conditions is extremely difficult. Winter weather is particularly problematic for the suite of cameras and sensors that autonomous cars use to perceive the world around them. That is because self-driving cars rely heavily on a spinning laser, called LIDAR, that tracks the objects around the car using laser pings. When snow is falling, the laser can confuse snowflakes with more solid objects."

and it had a safety driver too aka it can't do shit. Don't forget the roads are all plowed and clear in that video as well. Did you even watch it? it ****s up constantly just like your other favorite video of SF at night. Slow it down to half speed and you can really see all the mistakes it makes.

Hey did you know seatac airport has had autonomous trains for decades?!?!?!? I mean they run on a closed track with no other traffic or people or anything to get in the way and are shielded from weather conditions, but wow autonomous trains!!!

see what I did there you jackass? No wonder you millennials are struggling so much. It's like you're missing serious parts of basic education. I guess we can't blame you as education budgets have been gutted over the years thus resulting in embarrassments to the species such as yourself.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> see what I did there you jackass?


Uh oh! Looks like heynow needs a timeout.












heynow321 said:


> nah like NYC, boston, or seattle. you know, the big cities with real traffic, horrible road conditions, insane pedestrians, and inclement weather.
> 
> from your own article: "Operating self-driving cars in wintery conditions is extremely difficult. Winter weather is particularly problematic for the suite of cameras and sensors that autonomous cars use to perceive the world around them. That is because self-driving cars rely heavily on a spinning laser, called LIDAR, that tracks the objects around the car using laser pings. When snow is falling, the laser can confuse snowflakes with more solid objects."
> 
> ...


*GM's Cruise will test self-driving cars in New York in 2018*
*https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/17/gms-cruise-will-test-self-driving-cars-in-new-york-in-2018.html*



heynow321 said:


> nah like NYC, boston, or seattle. you know, the big cities with real traffic, horrible road conditions, insane pedestrians, and inclement weather.
> 
> from your own article: "Operating self-driving cars in wintery conditions is extremely difficult. Winter weather is particularly problematic for the suite of cameras and sensors that autonomous cars use to perceive the world around them. That is because self-driving cars rely heavily on a spinning laser, called LIDAR, that tracks the objects around the car using laser pings. When snow is falling, the laser can confuse snowflakes with more solid objects."
> 
> ...


*Alphabet's Waymo Will Test Self-Driving Cars in Snowy Detroit*
*https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...will-test-self-driving-cars-in-wintry-detroit*


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

yes child...testing...do you know what that word means? google has been "testing" for a decade. Why don't you tell your boss to hire someone who can actually make a competent argument? their little disinformation campaign would go so much better if they did.

good god I've come across high school kids who can formulate an argument better than you. I don't know what's more disturbing. Your own inabilities or the fact that someone actually hired you.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> yes child...testing...do you know what that word means? google has been "testing" for a decade. Why don't you tell your boss to hire someone who can actually make a competent argument? their little disinformation campaign would go so much better if they did.


Correct, Google has been testing for a decade and now they're ready to launch their fully autonomous taxi service in Phoenix. Once they're satisfied it can handle the snow they'll launch in Nome Alaska. See how that works.


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

tomatopaste said:


> Correct, Google has been testing for a decade and now they're ready to launch their fully autonomous taxi service in Phoenix. Once they're satisfied it can handle the snow they'll launch in Nome Alaska. See how that works.


lol so it took a decade to potentially handle flat terrain, perfect weather, large roads with perfect markings, and not many pedestrians relative to other major cities. see how that works greg? I look forward to when they can possibly handle San Diego in another 10 years.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> yes child...testing...do you know what that word means? google has been "testing" for a decade. Why don't you tell your boss to hire someone who can actually make a competent argument? their little disinformation campaign would go so much better if they did.
> 
> good god I've come across high school kids who can formulate an argument better than you. I don't know what's more disturbing. Your own inabilities or the fact that someone actually hired you.


I feel your pain. You've been telling everyone for over a year that self driving cars will never happen and yet Waymo will launch their self driving taxi service in Phoenix and minute now.


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## james725 (Sep 14, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> keep on dreaming gregster.


would you like fries with that ?


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

heynow321 said:


> lol so it took a decade to potentially handle flat terrain, perfect weather, large roads with perfect markings, and not many pedestrians relative to other major cities. see how that works greg? I look forward to when they can possibly handle San Diego in another 10 years.


How about downtown San Francisco at night, Sparky?


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

tomatopaste said:


> I feel your pain. You've been telling everyone for over a year that self driving cars will never happen and yet Waymo will launch their self driving taxi service in Phoenix and minute now.


LOL I do admire your childlike imagination. Although it's not really a substitute for the ability to formulate a coherent argument.



tomatopaste said:


> How about downtown San Francisco at night, Sparky?


yeah you've already posted this 900 times and everyone has seen how it ****s up so badly so many times. try again greg. ask your boss if she has some new content to provide.


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

I can not wait to make a mess in a self driving car. A large Sunday with extra syrup will do the trick.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

Uber_Yota_916 said:


> I can not wait to make a mess in a self driving car. A large Sunday with extra syrup will do the trick.


I can't wait to see the look on your face when you see the $200 cleaning charge on your credit card.


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

tomatopaste said:


> I can't wait to see the look on your face when you see the $200 cleaning charge on your credit card.


Charge back the fee. They will cancel my account for it but I'll have done what I set out to do. I will be driving like an ass aaround the driverless cars. See how well they are programmed for unpredictable driving.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

Uber_Yota_916 said:


> Charge back the fee. They will cancel my account for it but I'll have done what I set out to do. I will be driving like an ass aaround the driverless cars. See how well they are programmed for unpredictable driving.











Go for it.


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

tomatopaste said:


> View attachment 205828
> 
> Go for it.


Lol.


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## tomatopaste (Apr 11, 2017)

Uber_Yota_916 said:


> Lol.


You'll be number 26 on the dumbest crimes list. Any time you get within 20 feet of a self driving car you're on camera.


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

Trump Economics said:


> *Alphabet's Waymo is testing its new ride-sharing platform, which should become available for the masses soon.
> 
> The Chrysler Pacifica is one car of choice for Waymo's service.
> 
> ...


So... what happened?


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

you didn't hear? waymo's cars are all over NYC, SF, Seattle, and LA! they're not just driving in circles in sparsely populated phoenix suburbs with perfect weather and perfect roads!


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## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

iheartuber said:


> So... what happened?


It's likely the general public refuses to ride in a Chrysler product.


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