Show Me the Way-mo

Many of those who have ever chauffeured me around town can attest that I'm a horrendous backseat driver. I hate riding in Ubers, and when going on trips, I usually opt to drive. I probably owe an apology to a bunch of people who've shuttled me around for being a terrible passenger.

Transportation is something that has always fascinated me, so any chance I have to experience a new way of travel, I couldn’t be more excited. However, when people talked about the future and cars that would drive themselves, I am guilty of brushing it off. Even though lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control have been around for roughly a decade, it is still quite a treat when done right. But many still can't even keep the car in the middle of the road (I'm talking to you, Polestar).

ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) or for to the uninitiated "hands-free driving" (though it isn't entirely) has really come a long way in the last year and continues to get better every day. Still, whether it's Tesla's FSD, VW's IQ Drive, or Mercedes' Drive Pilot, I still am not yet comfortable letting those systems pilot me around on anything but the highway. I'd be willing to argue that many OEMs must agree with me as well since companies like Lucid only allow you to use their ADAS systems on the interstate or companies like Ford only allowing drivers access on approved highways.

It's a tricky situation, though, because in reality, I know many people who loathe driving. For most, when that mainly consists of commuting, I can't really blame them either. Between careless drivers texting and holding me up at the light, or some stupid pinecone in the left lane who won’t move over while going under the speed limit, why would you?

Generated by AI

So, while I see the place for ADAS, with some systems being largely better than others, it was still hard for me to be enthusiastic about it when I know it needs babysitting. Is it better than someone drinking and driving? ABSOLUTELY! But should it be your designated driver? No.

I kind of assumed that after hearing lots of bad press about GM's Cruise autonomous taxis, any sort of real, decent autonomous vehicle would be far-fetched or no better than FSD, which, although fine, isn't the same. Boy, was I wrong.

During my last trip to Arizona, I got to take a Waymo from Tempe to Scottsdale and back to Tempe. What made this even more interesting was that it was a driverless Waymo (which not all are), so it really gave the full AV experience—no driver. No problem. Right?

Our friends were super excited to be chauffeured by nobody. Ian Harris

Once the Waymo showed up, all four of us—myself, my fiancé, and our two friends—stepped in and were ready for takeoff. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that. We moved about 30 feet and came up to a rail crossing for a cable car, and the Waymo had a hiccup.

The problem didn’t specifically come from the cable crossing but from the fact that it had been coned off. The Waymo was reading these tall pylons as people who were standing on the tracks next to where it needed to go. We were in no rush, and for curiosity’s sake, we all wanted to see what was going to happen. Would the Waymo wait 2-3 business days for these pylons to move, or would it just kick us out and give up? Thankfully, the answer was neither.

Source: Waymo

After a few minutes, it backed up, shuttled around the lot, and went straight through the crossing with no issues. Down the road, I started noticing a lot of things. As soon as the stoplight changed, we began leaving behind other people who were on their phones. Cyclists who couldn’t stay in the bike lane didn’t bother the Waymo at all. The Waymo just inched over in its lane and breezed past the bike. And lastly, we faced the dreaded minivan.

There’s a list of cars that you just know will ruin your day in traffic. In Colorado and California, it seems to be every Subaru. In the Midwest, it’s the Dodge Ram or some late-00s minivan, whether it’s a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna. Everywhere has one. In this case, it was a black Dodge Grand Caravan, driven by someone who, while paying attention to "Little Johnny" in the backseat or too busy ordering Dutch Bros on their phone, didn’t notice the car in front of them slowing down. They jerked over into our lane, cut us off, and hit the brakes. It wasn’t a full panic stop, but definitely enough to cause concern and potentially lead to an accident.

What was astonishing was that not only did the Waymo not freak out or swerve, but it slowed down so smoothly that, if we hadn’t been watching, we never would’ve known what happened. The car reacted quickly and smoothly. The rest of our excursion to Scottsdale was uneventful, except for the realization that this vehicle was truly driving itself—and doing it well. It wasn’t just being remote-controlled like an RC car.

Source: Waymo

Inside the Waymo, we sat with one of us in the front passenger seat and the other three in the back, which wasn’t bad. You’re not allowed in the driver’s seat, and if you were to unlock the driver’s door and try to sit in it, the vehicle will throw an error and proceeds to call Waymo Support (ask me how I found that out). Both the first and second Waymo we took were extremely clean. You can cast any music you’d like from the front or back, or choose from the ambient music presets already setup. No conversing with a driver, and overall, it was a very nice place to be.

For our voyage back to Tempe, we took a second Waymo. It picked us up from a sidewalk that the Waymo had no problem getting to. This time, it had zero hiccups getting on the road. We got on our way, and it made its way through decent traffic. About a quarter of the way back, I started to notice that not only was I not anxious about the driving, but I actually was able to tune out and relax. This thing really is a "Good Driver." Frankly, far better than any Uber and easily surpasses the skills many people I’ve been in the car with. It was great that I could just sit back, sightsee, and enjoy the ride.

Ian Harris

By the time we arrived back in Tempe, I had really come to enjoy the whole experience. Each trip was about $9.00 each way for about a 20-25 minute trip, and it really seemed like a fantastic way to get around—low stress and comfortable. Plus, you don’t even have to tip! It was definitely the best experience I’ve ever had in any cab, but frankly, one of the nicest experiences I’ve ever had with public transportation.

What's the biggest takeaway from this experience? Should all taxis be driverless? I don't necessarily think so, but if I had my way, I probably wouldn't want a driver if I could avoid it. I realize that in some places, AVs would perform better than in others. The Phoenix and Phoenix metro areas are extremely gridded for the most part, which makes learning and mapping the roads easy. Still, this is early tech, and while I am sure it will only get better, right now I might not want to take an AV to a place if I’m in a hurry, like an airport, just because if it did have an issue like what we had in the parking lot, it would be frustrating, to say the least. Overall, I’m a huge fan, and I really hope to see Waymo keep growing and continue succeeding. I've seen that they are working with Hyundai and will eventually use Ioniq 5s. When I was in California last year, we even spotted a test mule. They are also working with Chinese EV manufacturer Zeeker. The future looks bright for AVs, and I can't wait to watch Waymo and other companies make some amazing cars.