Need for Speed

Are autonomous taxis the way to go? Currently, only if you like demonstrably poorer service for your buck.

A new study conducted by Forbes reveals how Waymo, a leader in the robotaxi industry, still lags considerably behind human-driven ridesharing services in two key transportation metrics: time and money.

Over 50 rides, not only were Waymo rides more expensive, but they also took twice as long compared to a ridehailing service like Uber.

“The current status of [autonomous vehicles] means that cost and time sensitive customers still choose rideshare,” reads the Forbes report. “For the time being, AVs will not be the low cost solution to transportation companies initially promised.”

Slow Rolling

Forbes‘ test compared rides offered by Waymo, UberX, and Lyft in Los Angeles, and included various pick up and drop off points from morning till evening. They were graded on the price at booking, quoted time to pickup, and estimated time of arrival.

The autonomous vehicles performed worse in all respects.

Across the fifty samples, the average human-driven ride-hail price was $28.14, while an identical ride with a Waymo robotaxi cost $9.50 more — though that didn’t include a tip for the human driver. Assuming you added a 20 percent gratuity, you’d still be paying about $3.87 more.

That’s notable but not necessarily deal-breaking. Speed is where the gap broadens. The average time to pick up for Waymo was 7.2 minutes, compared to 3.4 for ridesharing, meaning that you’d be waiting twice as long on your robo-ride.

And most eegregiously, the average trip time in a robotaxi was a glacial 33:58 minutes, when hopping in an Uber or Lyft would take you only 15:20 minutes — a staggering 120 percent difference.

Counter-Hype

Granted, these numbers aren’t an indictment of robotaxis for all time to come. They are a sobering reflection of the current state of the technology, however, and in a tech industry that a) thrives on unchecked hype to court billions of dollars, and b) is premised on driving out human labor, a harsh reality check is never out of order.

In Waymo’s case, its robotaxis can only operate in specific cities where extensive, manual mapping has been done by the company’s engineers. While its cars can drive up to highway speeds — some competitors don’t — they do not drive on highways.

In general, Waymo robotaxis drive conservatively, which can be a pro or con depending on how much you value speed versus safety. Still, being a stickler for speed limits doesn’t mean they can’t screw up; crashes have happened.

This isn’t the most extensive study, and the jury’s still out on how much autonomous rides will improve in the future. But as it stands, unless you enjoy the sheer novelty of being driven around by a robot, it’s hard to make an argument for taking Waymo right now.