I really like Waymo, and compared to Uber/Lyft the experience is just strictly higher quality. The ride is smoother, the cars have a consistent quality, the driver is consistent, you get the car to yourself, etc.
However, I have three major complaints.
a. In Phoenix, where Waymo has been operating for nearly 4 years, I can still only visit a third of the city[1] - I can't take a Waymo to my dentist, to the vet, etc. and these are places that are <15 minutes from the city center.
b. Waymo doesn't go on highways, only backstreets, so trips take 2x longer - and takes you through some sketchy alleyways and streets.
c. For some damn reason they refuse to let you connect to the car's speakers using Bluetooth or Airplay. Instead, you need to download the Google app, then use voice input to 'hey Google, play <xyz>' - and argue with the AI to play some music. Then it can't play music from your Apple Music or local files, because they only integrate with Google's music provider and Spotify or whatever. It's terrible and the worst music experience you could have for Apple users.
Hopefully they address some of these with their new platform.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40756191
However, I have three major complaints.
a. In Phoenix, where Waymo has been operating for nearly 4 years, I can still only visit a third of the city[1] - I can't take a Waymo to my dentist, to the vet, etc. and these are places that are <15 minutes from the city center.
b. Waymo doesn't go on highways, only backstreets, so trips take 2x longer - and takes you through some sketchy alleyways and streets.
c. For some damn reason they refuse to let you connect to the car's speakers using Bluetooth or Airplay. Instead, you need to download the Google app, then use voice input to 'hey Google, play <xyz>' - and argue with the AI to play some music. Then it can't play music from your Apple Music or local files, because they only integrate with Google's music provider and Spotify or whatever. It's terrible and the worst music experience you could have for Apple users.
Hopefully they address some of these with their new platform.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40756191