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☆ Waymo's robotaxis are better than some San Francisco drivers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Waymo's autonomous driver is pretty damn smart, and aside from a few hesitations, the robotaxi offers a smooth, comfortable experience with competitive pricing against other ride-hailing apps. Lloyd Lee/Business InsiderWaymo's 5th generation autonomous driver could be best described as a safe but not an annoyingly cautious driver. It did the same thing to give itself more room when it detected a large parked bucket truck slightly in Waymo's lane. The expectation I had that the Waymo driver would be stiff, as the term "robot taxi" might suggest, was dispelled throughout the rides. The spokesperson said it's also possible I failed to notice something the Waymo car picked up.

Persons: —, San Francisco —, Uber, Lloyd Lee, Spokespeople, Lyft, Andrew Macdonald, Uber's, Waymo, Waymo's, BI's Peter Kafka, it's Organizations: Service, Business, Financial, SF, PACE, Jaguars Locations: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Pine

☆ A popular YouTuber's negative video of Humane's AI Pin raises questions about critical reviews in the age of innovation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at a critical tech review that caused a bit of a stir on social media . AdvertisementIn a 25-minute video , Brownlee details all the issues he encountered using the AI device. Earlier this year, a negative video of Fisker's Ocean SUV by Brownlee also made waves on social media . Mario Tama/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BICritical reviews in the age of innovation raise some interesting questions. Last week's drop among tech stocks shouldn't scare away investors , according to Wedbush.

Persons: —, Michael Pollan, Roy Rochlin, Marques Brownlee, Brownlee, X, Mario Tama, Chelsea Jia Feng, It's, Insider's Peter Kafka, Peter, Katie Notopolous, Goldman, David Solomon, Kevin Winter, Eric Newcomer, Rebecca Zisser, Caitlin Clark, Morgan Stanley, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, YouTube, Apple, Apple Vision, Humane, America, JPMorgan, National Bureau, Statistics, Amazon Prime, Street Journal, Justice Department, Ticketmaster, United Airlines, Bank of America, The Locations: San Francisco, New York, Tokyo, London, Dublin

☆ It's easy to bash tech, but I've started taking robotaxis — and they're awesome
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Unlike other hyped-up tech, self-driving taxis look like they could be the real thing. Which is exactly how I felt after my last trip to San Francisco, when I took several rides in Waymo's robotaxis. AdvertisementWe've heard about self-driving taxis forever, but they're just starting to become a reality. AdvertisementWaymo self-driving taxis are kitted out with cameras and other sensors, like this Jaguar model crossing an intersection in San Francisco. Waymo's self-driving cars aren't perfectYes, there are still some issues with Waymo, at least in the rides I took recently.

Persons: —, Waymo, We've, they're, Cruise, I'm, JASON HENRY, David Margines, honking, Mario Tama, Margines, Dmitri Dolgov, PyPqVaOc6B, Elon Musk, Musk Organizations: Service, Software, Google, San Francisco International Airport, Austin, Amazon, Warriors, Chase, Big, Elon Locations: San Francisco, Phoenix, Waymo's, Oakland, Los Angeles

☆ Robotaxi regulators say Tesla hasn’t contacted them about plans teased by Musk
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( David Ingram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Musk hinted at his plans in a brief post late Friday afternoon on X, writing: "Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8." Musk has talked about a robotaxi service for years. In 2019, he discussed plans to launch a robotaxi fleet using Tesla vehicles that people had leased and then returned. Musk has also talked about a robotaxi service with decentralized ownership, in which Tesla owners could rent out their cars for fares. Amazon subsidiary Zoox has said it has authorization from Nevada to operate a robotaxi service, which hasn't launched.

Persons: robotaxis, Tesla, Elon Musk, Brad Templeton, Templeton, Cruise, Musk, Zoox, hasn't, Eli Rohl Organizations: The California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Public Utilities Commission, NBC, DMV, Google, General Motors, Phoenix, Toyota, Car Dealers Association, Reuters, Cruise, Transportation Department, Nevada DMV, The, The Nevada DMV, California DMV Locations: California, San Francisco, Los Angeles, leaseholders, Arizona, Nevada, The Nevada

☆ Waymo self-driving cars are delivering Uber Eats orders for first time
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Alex Koller | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Two Waymo autonomous vehicles drive themselves down Central Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., March 18, 2024. For Uber Eats, Phoenix is the seventh site with autonomous deliveries, but the first location where the delivery app will use Waymo's vehicles. Uber Eats has already teamed up with robotics companies Cartken, Motional, Nuro and Serve Robotics to pilot autonomous deliveries in other markets . Uber Eats customers may start receiving orders delivered by a Waymo self-driving car for the first time in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Uber Eats users in areas serviced by Waymo can opt to have their items delivered by a courier.

Persons: Uber Organizations: Robotics, Waymo, CNBC, PACE Locations: Phoenix , Arizona, U.S, Phoenix, Arizona, Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Los Angeles, San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators on Friday authorized Waymo to expand services of its fleet of robotaxis into Los Angeles and to cities on the peninsula south of San Francisco. The California Public Utilities Commission approved Waymo's application for the expansion of its self-driving taxi operations beyond San Francisco starting Friday. The company owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc. has also been operating the service in Phoenix since 2020. The expansion for Waymo comes after California authorities revoked the license of a rival robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining its driverless cars that had been transporting passengers throughout San Francisco were a dangerous menace. Officials in San Mateo County and Los Angeles had opposed the expansion and want more local say over how robotaxis can operate.

Persons: Waymo Organizations: FRANCISCO, —, The, The California Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco, Google, Inc, General Motors, Cruise Locations: — California, robotaxis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, The California, San, Phoenix, LA, California, San Mateo County

Alphabet's Waymo robotaxi unit won approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to expand service to parts of Los Angeles and the Bay Area, according to a notice posted to the regulator's website on Friday. "Waymo may begin fared driverless passenger service operations in the specified areas of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Peninsula, effective today," the release said. In mid-February, Waymo initiated a voluntary recall filing notice with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, saying it would fix software issues. The latest notice applies to the commercial ride-sharing service Waymo One. WATCH: Crowd burns Waymo in San Francisco

Persons: Alphabet's, Waymo, Apple, Elon Musk's Tesla, Cruise robotaxis Organizations: California Public Utilities Commission, San, National, Traffic Safety Administration, California Department of Motor Vehicles, General Motors, Cruise, Palo Locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco Peninsula, Phoenix, California, Palo Alto, San Mateo County, San Francisco

☆ Uber drivers say the job has become more competitive — and that it's made their work less profitable
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some Uber and Lyft drivers say it's become harder to make money over the past year. AdvertisementMany Uber and Lyft drivers say ride-hailing has become less profitable than it used to be, and some are blaming that on the gig's popularity. Fred is one of several drivers who told Business Insider that an increase in drivers has contributed to fewer available — and lower-paying — trips. This came after the number of global Uber drivers increased 31% in 2022 to a record five million. One San Francisco-based Lyft driver told BI that Waymo's self-driving taxis in the city have added another layer of competition.

Persons: —, Fred, Uber, Lyft, it's, Rich, I'd Organizations: Service, Business, Arizona Uber Locations: Virginia, San Francisco, Arizona

☆ A San Francisco Lyft driver explains how Waymo's self-driving taxis have made driving even more competitive
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A San Francisco-based Lyft driver said Waymo's self-driving taxis have made the job more competitive. And it is getting harder every day.”AdvertisementMore drivers, ride challenges, and self-driving taxis make ride-hailing competitiveA self-driving Waymo car in San Francisco. Lyft has a self-driving partnership with the riderless technology company Motional in Las Vegas, which has led to the completion of over 100,000 self-driving Lyft trips. In October, San Francisco banned Cruise from operating in San Francisco after it failed to disclose video footage of a woman being pinned under one of its vehicles. The company told BI it has a couple hundred self-driving taxis in its San Francisco fleet.

Persons: —, Nick Boenzi, San Francisco — Boenzi, Boenzi, He’d, ”, Lyft, Uber, Lyft’s, Cruise, Waymo, he’s, he’ll Organizations: Service, San Francisco International Airport, Getty, BI, who’ve, General Motors, California Public Utilities Commission, San, Lyft Locations: Francisco, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Cruise

A Waymo rider-only robotaxi is seen during a test ride in San Francisco, California, U.S., December 9, 2022. Waymo has filed a voluntary recall notice with federal vehicle safety regulators for software that was previously used in their driverless cars, the company announced Tuesday, marking a first for Alphabet 's self-driving vehicle unit. The two collisions involving their robotaxis resulted in only minor vehicle damage and no injuries, Waymo said in the post. Waymo currently operates its driverless ride-hailing service Waymo One in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin. In a separate incident, unknown parties set a Waymo vehicle ablaze on Saturday in San Francisco's Chinatown during Lunar New Year celebrations.

Persons: Waymo, Katherine Barna, Barna, Jan, Cruise, Elon Musk, Tesla Organizations: National, Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, California Department of Motor Vehicles, GM, California DMV, Authorities, NBC Bay Area Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Phoenix, San Francisco , Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, California, San Francisco's Chinatown

☆ Waymo is full speed ahead as safety incidents and regulators stymie competitor Cruise
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Waymo, Alphabet 's self-driving car unit, is having a relatively good couple of months – at least, compared to one of its key rivals: GM 's Cruise. When Cruise began offering fully autonomous rides in San Francisco in the winter of 2022, Waymo followed in the fall. Now, after a barrage of safety concerns and incidents with Cruise self-driving cars in recent months, the landscape looks starkly different. I have worked with pretty high-scale systems before Waymo, at Google and Ericsson, and this is a pretty staggering scale. [Note: Waymo recently shared that Waymo riders took more than 700,000 trips in autonomous vehicles in 2023.]

Persons: Cruise, Waymo, Saswat Panigrahi, you've, –, … Organizations: Google, Cruise, California Department of Motor Vehicles, GM, CNBC, Ericsson, Phoenix Locations: Phoenix, San Francisco, Austin, Buffalo , New York, California, U.S

Customers ordering an Uber in Phoenix, Arizona, now have the option to take their ride in a fully autonomous vehicle, the company announced in a blog post Thursday. The autonomous Uber rides will be serviced by Waymo vehicles, and rides will be the same price as the traditional car rides Uber offers, an Uber spokesperson told CNBC. Customers who request a ride in an UberX, Uber Comfort, Uber Comfort Electric or Uber Green within Waymo's operating territory could be paired with one of its autonomous cars. People who are eager to try the autonomous rides can also increase the chances of being matched with one if they update their preferences in the app. Uber declined to share how many Waymo cars are being serviced in Pheonix or when it plans to roll out the feature in other cities.

Persons: Uber Organizations: Google, CNBC, Uber Comfort, Uber Locations: Phoenix , Arizona, Pheonix

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators have revoked the license of a robotaxi service owned by General Motors after determining its driverless cars that recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco are a dangerous menace. Political Cartoons View All 1215 ImagesIn a statement, Cruise confirmed it has ceased its robotaxi operations in San Francisco. Waymo, which began as as secret project within Google more than a decade ago, has been running another robotaxi service in Phoenix for the past three years. Cruise also is testing a robotaxi service in Los Angeles, where protests against it already have been percolating, as well as Phoenix and Austin, Texas. The DMV initially asked Cruise to cut its driverless fleet in San Francisco in half, a request accepted by the company.

Persons: San Francisco —, Cruise's robotaxis, robotaxi, Cruise, Panini, ”, Waymo, haven't, Mary Barra, ” Barra Organizations: FRANCISCO, —, General Motors, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Public Utilities Commission, Google, GM, Cruise, Detroit, DMV Locations: — California, San Francisco, U.S, Waymo, Phoenix, California, Los Angeles, Austin , Texas

☆ A driverless car in San Francisco drove right into wet concrete and got stuck after seemingly mistaking it for a regular road: 'It ain't got a brain'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A driverless Cruise car got temporarily stuck in wet concrete in San Francisco on Tuesday. A driverless Cruise car with no passengers got stuck in wet concrete at a construction site in San Francisco on Tuesday, SFGATE first reported. "It thinks it's a road and it ain't because it ain't got a brain and it can't tell that it's freshly poured concrete," Harvey told SFGATE. A rise in commercial AVs in San Francisco would "inevitably lead to an increase in traffic congestion and the number of dangerous incidents," Chiu's office said in a press release. "San Francisco will suffer serious harms from this unfettered expansion, which outweigh whatever impacts AV companies may experience from a minimal pause in commercial deployment."

Persons: SFGATE, Paul Harvey, Harvey, Rachel Gordon, Cruise, Gordon, David Chiu, Chiu, Waymo Organizations: San Francisco Department of Public, New York Times, Times, California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors, Google Locations: San Francisco, California, SF, Francisco

☆ Cruise vehicles cause weekend traffic jam one day after California approves 24-7 robotaxi service
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In an aerial view, Chevrolet Cruise autonomous vehicles sit parked in a staging area on June 08, 2023 in San Francisco, California. On Thursday, California regulators voted to approve round-the-clock robotaxi service in San Francisco from two rival companies: Waymo and Cruise. By Friday night, a group of Cruise vehicles had stopped short in the city's North Beach neighborhood, flashing hazard lights and causing a traffic backup, according to reports. "There's over 10,000 human ride-hail drivers in San Francisco, potentially much more than that, depending on how you count it," Vogt said on the call. So it does not make a very high number to generate significant revenue in a city like San Francisco.

Persons: Cruise, Waymo, Tekedra Mawakana, Chris Ludwick, We've, Ludwick, Kyle Vogt, Vogt Organizations: Chevrolet Cruise, California's Public Utilities Commission, Google, Cruise, General Motors, CNBC Locations: San Francisco , California, Autonomous, San Francisco, California, Cruise, Beach, U.S, Vallejo, North Beach

☆ San Francisco's robotaxi dream has been realized, but some locals and campaigners think things are about to spin out of control
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Thursday, California regulators voted in favor of expanding robotaxi services across the city. On Thursday, regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-to-1 in favor of greenlighting the expansion of robotaxi services across the entirety of San Francisco. This signaled their confidence in the safety of driverless vehicles for more than 800,000 citizens. It is this that will linger in the minds of San Francisco's residents as robotaxis go mainstream in the city. This does, of course, pale in comparison with the number of accidents that take place daily in regular vehicles, but it highlights challenges for driverless vehicles nonetheless.

Persons: Cruise, Prashanthi Raman, hasn't, robotaxis Organizations: Morning, Golden, Traffic Safety Administration, California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors, EV, Cruise, LinkedIn, Reuters Locations: Francisco's, California, San Francisco, Silicon Valley

☆ Waymo's robotaxis coming to Austin, Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Waymo, the Alphabet -owned autonomous vehicle company, is officially entering the land of breakfast tacos: Austin, Texas will become the newest city to offer Waymo's ride-hailing services, according to a Wednesday announcement. Austin is the fourth major city to allow Waymo's ride-hailing pilot program, behind Metro Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service will be available night and day in areas like downtown Austin, Barton Hills, East Austin, Hyde Park, Riverside and more, according to a blog post. Bonelli declined to share a specific vehicle count for Waymo's planned Austin fleet. Waymo announced in late July it would "push back the timeline" on its autonomous semi-truck development and instead focus on autonomous ride-hailing services.

Persons: Austin, Chris Bonelli, Bonelli, Waymo's, Waymo, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Metro Phoenix, CNBC, Hyde Locations: Austin , Texas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, LA, Barton Hills, East Austin, Hyde Park , Riverside, U.S

☆ Video shows police yelling at a driverless Waymo taxi to stop before it runs over a fire hose
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Footage obtained by San Francisco news site Mission Local shows police trying to stop a Waymo driverless taxi. The driverless taxis ferrying passengers throughout San Francisco are a technological marvel — and sometimes a nuisance. Waymo operates autonomous taxis in San Francisco and Phoenix, and customers can hail rides through an app. As impressive as they are, the driverless taxis on roads today still have trouble reacting to unusual situations like blocked streets or commands from first responders. A recent viral Tik Tok video shows a police officer repeatedly gesturing for a Waymo taxi to pull over.

☆ Firefighters smashed the window of a driverless Cruise taxi to stop it running over their hoses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Firefighters smashed the front window of a Cruise autonomous car to stop it from running over hoses. Another Cruise car ran over a fire hose when it was in use at an active fire scene in June 2022. The incidents were noted in a letter sent by San Francisco officials to regulators on Wednesday. San Francisco firefighters smashed the front window of a Cruise driverless taxi to stop it from running over their hoses. A similar incident occurred in June 2022 when a self-driving Cruise car ran over a fire hose that was in use, the letter says.

☆ Waymo says it plans to launch its self-driving service in Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Waymo said service will first begin with safety drivers behind the wheel and, later, with just Waymo employees as riders. “When we think about our next cities, Los Angeles jumps out,” said Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana in Wednesday's blog post. Alphabet -owned Waymo said Wednesday it plans to expand its self-driving ride-hailing service, Waymo One, to Los Angeles. The self-driving car industry has been slow to progress and live up to lofty promises, but that's especially true of Waymo. Waymo announced plans in March to remove safety drivers for fully-autonomous rides, but those are still only available to Waymo employees, the spokesperson confirmed.

☆ Waymo workers form union in the latest push to organize Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Eli M. Rosenberg | Eli Rosenberg Is An Investigative Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Food service employees at the autonomous driving company Waymo are forming a union, the latest push by support workers to organize at Silicon Valley's most prominent companies. The workers are employed by Sodexo, which contracts service work for Google and other companies. "We are confident this one will also reach an amicable agreement for workers, the union, and our client very soon." The workers are part of Silicon Valley's ranks of contractors who support and supplement the work at tech companies. Her team unionized in 2020, and some of them have been joining meetings with the Waymo workers to show them the ropes of organizing and talk up the union.

☆ The era of Big Tech moonshots is over. Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are pulling back on ambitious, risky long-term projects after many of them failed.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Hugh Langley | Eugene Kim | Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have scaled back their ambitious "moonshot" projects. Moonshots like Google X and Amazon Grand Challenge allowed tech firms to build innovative projects. Before Amazon, Parviz led a similar team at Google called Google X. Page and Brin championed X projects they loved, helping them gain funding and headcount within the unit. Parviz, who created the once-hyped-up Google Glass, left Google X in 2014 to start Amazon's Grand Challenge.

☆ 22-year-old shares nightmare of getting scammed by a fake job: 'I went from excited to devastated in a month'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Jennifer Liu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Callie Heim, 22, went viral on TikTok for sharing how she got scammed by a fake job listing. Callie Heim was thrilled to start her marketing job with Waymo, the buzzy self-driving car company, earlier this summer. Heim had been scammed by a fake job listing. She was invited to a phone interview the next day, where the interviewer said the job would entail getting a computer and phone to do her job remotely. In reality, this is what's known as a fake check scam, where scammers hope you'll send them money and "reimburse" you with a bad check.

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