undefined | Better HN

0 pointscharlie01y ago0 comments

This will boil down to availability and price. Taxis are generally just too expensive to use often and also waits are too long. Of course, I'm comparing cost of frequent taxis vs buying a used car.

0 comments

resolutebat1y ago

In a place like Singapore, where a taxi ride is $10 but a Corolla starts from $100,000, the equation will strongly favor robotaxis for everyone.

bigfudge1y ago

The other problem is the economics flips over once you also have to own a car. The marginal cost of each trip goes down … but if waymo is good enough for 95% of the time the it might not be necessary any more.

charlie0OP1y ago

I personally don't think the price will ever drop low enough for it to make sense to most people to drop cars entirely. The US is notorious for being unwalkable, save for a few select areas.

Working remotely helps a lot since there's no need to drive every day, but it's only a fraction of overall people who have this privilege.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing Waymo at my town. It would make a good DD and backup in case my car needs repairs, etc.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse