First experience with a Waymo self driving taxi

[K.Aoi]

Was in LA a few weeks ago for an event, and had the opportunity to try a Waymo self driving taxi. I had already taken several normal Lyfts by that point so I was curious how it would compare. For those who don't know, Waymo self driving taxis are geofenced to a specific part of LA, so they can't go outside of that. But because of how big the event was, it ended up actually being a bit cheaper than a normal Lyft or Uber, usually it's a bit more.

The most nerve wracking part was a left turn onto a main road at the very beginning, but then it quickly became the least stressful ridehail experience I had the entire time I was in LA. It was actually impressive and almost scary how normal and unremarkable it felt after a few minutes. It was definitely a better driver than the prior Lyfts we'd had there. Initially we tried it just for the novelty, but if I had the chance I would use it again. I took a short video but like I said, it quickly just felt unremarkable and that's incredible.

https://images.kiriya.net/ShareX/2025/07/20250706_205208.mp4

 

[JeffKeryk]

Something good about following the rules of the road... We have FSD in our Tesla, but I don't use it lot. I'm not really ready but understnd this is the future.

 

[K.Aoi]

Something good about following the rules of the road... We have FSD in our Tesla, but I don't use it lot. I'm not really ready but understnd this is the future.

I would never trust the "FSD" in a Tesla after experiencing the Waymo and seeing them all over LA. These things have spinning lidar sensors on every side of the vehicle, I also rode in a friend's Model Y and the ultrasonic sensors and stuff shown on the screen didn't impress me at all after riding in the Waymo, especially since it appears the Waymos communicate with each other regarding road conditions. I would definitely trust Waymo, but the Tesla "FSD" causes way too many accidents in comparison. I would definitely appreciate the ability to turn this on as a feature at times but wouldn't use it all the time.

 

[Kira]

The speedo in your video never went above 35.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

My kids did mostly Waymo when they were in Arizona for a week. They had a rental to do Grand Canyon but they had an Air BNB in Pheonix and it was great to go out to bars etc. They said it was a great ride and like you better than many of the Ubers they have done in other places.

 

[CKN]

Cannot be better than the expert drivers that hang out on this forum.................

 

[dishdude]

I have over 100 rides in Waymos, the tech is great.

 

[dishdude]

The speedo in your video never went above 35.

They go exactly the speed limit.

 

[K.Aoi]

The speedo in your video never went above 35.

Well yeah, the speed limit was 35...

 

[andrew_j]

I would never trust the "FSD" in a Tesla after experiencing the Waymo and seeing them all over LA. These things have spinning lidar sensors on every side of the vehicle, I also rode in a friend's Model Y and the ultrasonic sensors and stuff shown on the screen didn't impress me at all after riding in the Waymo, especially since it appears the Waymos communicate with each other regarding road conditions. I would definitely trust Waymo, but the Tesla "FSD" causes way too many accidents in comparison. I would definitely appreciate the ability to turn this on as a feature at times but wouldn't use it all the time.

You can’t compare FSD to Waymo. FSD is intended to have a driver paying normal attention to correct it/take over. Waymo is no driver and likely has “support” intervene if overwhelmed the best they can remotely and last resort.

 

[scrllock]

Waymo feels like it drives like an actual person. The one I was in would creep at stoplights, especially while turning. CV-based systems like Tesla FSD are obviously inferior, and the last time I tried FSD, didn't feel much better than glorified lane assist, often mis-reading lane markers and road signs.

That said, I won't be paying for one myself any time soon. They just add to congestion, take jobs away from people, and frankly we don't need even more cameras recording everything we're doing outside.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Was in LA a few weeks ago for an event, and had the opportunity to try a Waymo self driving taxi. I had already taken several normal Lyfts by that point so I was curious how it would compare. For those who don't know, Waymo self driving taxis are geofenced to a specific part of LA, so they can't go outside of that. But because of how big the event was, it ended up actually being a bit cheaper than a normal Lyft or Uber, usually it's a bit more.

The most nerve wracking part was a left turn onto a main road at the very beginning, but then it quickly became the least stressful ridehail experience I had the entire time I was in LA. It was actually impressive and almost scary how normal and unremarkable it felt after a few minutes. It was definitely a better driver than the prior Lyfts we'd had there. Initially we tried it just for the novelty, but if I had the chance I would use it again. I took a short video but like I said, it quickly just felt unremarkable and that's incredible.

https://images.kiriya.net/ShareX/2025/07/20250706_205208.mp4

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Over the last couple of weeks I have been seeing them around city of Atlanta. Sometimes there's someone in the driver's seat.

 

[fantastic]

This is all getting more interesting. These were what movies where made of back in the day.

 

[FordP3]

I have over 100 rides in Waymos, the tech is great.

It's great until there is a "glitch" in the system, and it ends up severely injuring the passenger, another motorist, a pedestrian or worse.

 

[JeffKeryk]

It's great until there is a "glitch" in the system, and it ends up severely injuring the passenger, another motorist, a pedestrian or worse.

You mean humans do?

 

[K.Aoi]

It's great until there is a "glitch" in the system, and it ends up severely injuring the passenger, another motorist, a pedestrian or worse.

Yeah because human drivers don't **** up. Waymos have an insanely good track record, they are far safer than any human driver, the number of accidents that were caused by a waymo obeying traffic laws is in the low single digits over millions of miles travelled.

 

[thescreensavers]

But because of how big the event was, it ended up actually being a bit cheaper than a normal Lyft or Uber, usually it's a bit more.

Usually it's more? how does that make any sense. If we are replacing people with technology it supposed to make our lives easier/better. If it's going to cost more than a typical taxi after the novelty wears off why??

 

[Vercingetorix]

How good is Waymo in a blizzard?

 

[dishdude]

How good is Waymo in a blizzard?

So far they aren't operating anywhere that would be a concern.

 

[K.Aoi]

Usually it's more? how does that make any sense. If we are replacing people with technology it supposed to make our lives easier/better. If it's going to cost more than a typical taxi after the novelty wears off why??

The novelty is a big part of it, plus it's actually safer than human drivers. And after experiencing the average lyft driver in LA, I'd definitely spend a bit more for the waymo. And it's largely still in development/beta so it's limited in scope.

How good is Waymo in a blizzard?

I feel like you're really reaching if your "gotcha" is "can it handle weather situations that your average human driver can't properly handle either"