Way Mo' Fun!

So, I'm in Scottsdale, Arizona, on business. As I'm riding around town, I keep seeing these driverless vehicles with passengers in the back.

When BossMan asked where I wanted to go for dinner on my final night in town, I suggested that we go anywhere but take a Waymo.

"I've been wanting to ride in one of those myself," he said.

So, he showed up at six tonight, and we ordered up a Waymo to take us to a BBQ place.

The vehicle is ordered on the Waymo phone app, and the phone app is integral to the whole experience as the Waymo vehicle uses it to track the passenger's location. The phone is also used to unlock the door.

One of the first things we noticed was BossMan's initials on the dome at the top of the vehicle. Since these are primarily used near Phoenix and San Francisco airports (first wave of testing), the individual's name must be displayed so the passengers know which Waymo to hop into.

At a major intersection, our light was green, but we had to turn left. Rather than waiting at the line, Waymo pulled into the intersection a little bit to wait for clearance to make the turn. When the light turned yellow then red, the vehicles in the opposite direction stopped and Waymo made the turn. I found this interesting because this is very similar to human driving. I call this the I'm-not-going-to-wait-for-another-light cycle left-hand turn. Just as I wouldn't want to wait for the next green light, neither did Waymo.

When we reached our destination, the Waymo voice pleasantly explained that the doors will remain locked until passengers feel it is safe to exit the vehicle. We were instructed to pull the door handle twice to unlock and get out.

Once we arrived at the BBQ place, we found out that the restaurant was closed for a private event. (Dang! Arizona BBQ had such good ratings!) So, we ordered up another Waymo to take us to a pizza place. The app told us that Waymo would arrive in ten minutes, which is the same amount of time we waited for the first Waymo.

While we waited, two busloads of people showed up at the BBQ place. The "private party" had arrived. Both buses had trouble with the turn in the parking lot. Waymo arrived as the second bus struggled to make a corner. The bus stopped, and Waymo stopped behind the bus. The bus had to back up to try turning the other way. As the bus reversed, Waymo reversed.

Once the bus left the area, the Waymo pulled up to where we waited, and we got in. We rode it to the pizza place near my hotel so we could walk after dinner.

All in all, I give Waymo two huge thumbs up!

A few take-aways from the experience:

1. The ride is smooth and comfortable.

2. At no time did I feel afraid.

3. The vehicle uses radar and projects imagery of what the vehicle sees on a console between the driving seat and the passenger seat. The radar imagery matches what is actually out there. For example, a guy on a bicycle was at a light pushing the button for the crosswalk. A grey image of the man and his bike appeared on the screen. Same thing with a jeep. Even the jeeps back wheel was clear on the radar imagery.

4. The temperature and soft music were pleasant.

5. The pricing was acceptable. We needed to go about four or five miles, and the cost was $9.98.