9 ms·

I'm curious why they can't pick up and drop off at exact locations, as long as the location is in their operating boundaries.

wanderingstan 2y ago
In my experience they are very strict about finding a “safe” place to pick up and drop off, which often means turning onto a small side street or looking for a gap in parked cars. They won’t block traffic like a Lyft/Uber driver might.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  > They won’t block traffic like a Lyft/Uber driver might. Wow, then I don't know how they'd ever expand to NYC. In most areas there's no such thing as a "safe place" that doesn't block traffic. If there are sides of the road that aren't traffic (or bicycle) lanes, then they're taken up by parking. Taxis, Ubers, delivery trucks -- literally everything just stops in the street (or bicycle lane) and traffic temporarily goes around it.
  - mupuff1234 2y ago
    They'll just have to change the behavior, I assume the current behavior is just out of caution not some technical limit.
    - crazygringo 2y ago
      It's because it's illegal to double-park. Everyone in NYC does it because they have to, but Waymo is obeying the law.
BurningFrog 2y ago
When an Uber is near people wave to it, and the driver can stop where they are. The Waymos probably don't have that kind of social skills.
tanvach 2y ago
The app forces you to pick locations that the car can park safely (no double parking) that's closest to the requested locations. They can be 1-2 minutes walk. Not a big deal for us to be honest, except when going to the theaters in SF, where the car can stop a block away in sketchy Tenderloin.
throwaway48476 2y ago
They should have flashing lights and stop in the middle of the road like school busses do.
vineyardmike 2y ago
Because they have courtesy to not block traffic. Anecdotally, drivers are also MUCH more aggressive near them, so I’d be pretty nervous as a pedestrian getting in/out of one near heavy traffic. I’m not handicap in any way, and I’m totally fine walking to the corner of a city block to get in it, in exchange for a much safer ride than an Uber. I’ve never had it be more than a few hundred feet - usually it’s 2-3 cars away where it can parallel park on the other side of an intersection in the WORST case. Oh I guess they do avoid some of the intense AF hills but I’ve had Uber drivers do the same.
TulliusCicero 2y ago
Human drivers are willing to break the law for pick ups and drop offs, and as a society we largely tolerate that as long as it's not egregious in terms of safety or blocking others. But programming a robot to deliberately break the law is uncomfortable for people to think about.
- elsonrodriguez 2y ago
  This might lead to a beneficial feedback loop for some traffic laws.

wanderingstan 2y ago

In my experience they are very strict about finding a “safe” place to pick up and drop off, which often means turning onto a small side street or looking for a gap in parked cars. They won’t block traffic like a Lyft/Uber driver might.

crazygringo 2y ago
> They won’t block traffic like a Lyft/Uber driver might. Wow, then I don't know how they'd ever expand to NYC. In most areas there's no such thing as a "safe place" that doesn't block traffic. If there are sides of the road that aren't traffic (or bicycle) lanes, then they're taken up by parking. Taxis, Ubers, delivery trucks -- literally everything just stops in the street (or bicycle lane) and traffic temporarily goes around it.
- mupuff1234 2y ago
  They'll just have to change the behavior, I assume the current behavior is just out of caution not some technical limit.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    It's because it's illegal to double-park. Everyone in NYC does it because they have to, but Waymo is obeying the law.

BurningFrog 2y ago

When an Uber is near people wave to it, and the driver can stop where they are. The Waymos probably don't have that kind of social skills.

tanvach 2y ago

The app forces you to pick locations that the car can park safely (no double parking) that's closest to the requested locations. They can be 1-2 minutes walk. Not a big deal for us to be honest, except when going to the theaters in SF, where the car can stop a block away in sketchy Tenderloin.

throwaway48476 2y ago

They should have flashing lights and stop in the middle of the road like school busses do.

vineyardmike 2y ago

Because they have courtesy to not block traffic. Anecdotally, drivers are also MUCH more aggressive near them, so I’d be pretty nervous as a pedestrian getting in/out of one near heavy traffic. I’m not handicap in any way, and I’m totally fine walking to the corner of a city block to get in it, in exchange for a much safer ride than an Uber. I’ve never had it be more than a few hundred feet - usually it’s 2-3 cars away where it can parallel park on the other side of an intersection in the WORST case. Oh I guess they do avoid some of the intense AF hills but I’ve had Uber drivers do the same.

TulliusCicero 2y ago

Human drivers are willing to break the law for pick ups and drop offs, and as a society we largely tolerate that as long as it's not egregious in terms of safety or blocking others. But programming a robot to deliberately break the law is uncomfortable for people to think about.

elsonrodriguez 2y ago
This might lead to a beneficial feedback loop for some traffic laws.