How Waymo outlasted the competition and made robo-taxis a real business

Safety record and investigations

• Multiple references to ongoing NHTSA probes and specific incidents (e.g., light pole, red-light run) but many commenters note that, relative to reported ~50k rides/day, the crash rate still looks very low.
• Several cyclists and pedestrians say they feel safer around Waymos than around typical city drivers, citing strict adherence to signals and better behavior near bikes.
• Others stress that even one serious incident can trigger public backlash and shutdowns (as with Cruise), so incentives still favor over‑caution.

On‑road behavior and rider anecdotes

• Phoenix, SF, and LA users describe daily use; rides generally smooth, cautious, and “good human driver” level, though sometimes overly timid or confused at weird intersections or parking lots.
• Waymos are reported to be very predictable, rarely aggressive, and often better than Uber/Lyft drivers, especially for vulnerable road users.
• Minor oddities: lane changes indecisiveness, awkward parking‑lot behavior, occasional puzzlement on unmarked or complex streets.

Remote operations and control

• Waymo employees state there is no remote driving, only “fleet response” that suggests maneuvers (e.g., U‑turn, new route).
• A contested case where a wrong remote instruction preceded a red‑light violation leads to debate over how much real control remote staff have and what events the car should treat as “never” vs. overrideable.

Economics, scale, and “real business” question

• Many argue it’s not yet a “real business” because it runs large losses and volumes (~50k rides/week) are tiny versus Uber’s.
• Others reply that being unit‑economically decent in a few cities, with strong safety, is already significant; profitability is expected only after much larger deployment.
• High mapping cost, HD maps, lidar hardware, and unknown human support ratios are seen as major constraints on scalability.

Weather, geography, and limits

• Phoenix and SF are seen as relatively easy environments; snow, ice, and rapidly changing winter conditions are considered major unsolved challenges.
• Waymo points to fog/rain handling and limited winter testing; skeptics expect full four‑season reliability to be decades away.

Broader societal and policy debates

• Some see AVs as a big safety and access win versus current US driving norms; others fear more isolation, surveillance, platform lock‑in, and undermining of mass transit.
• Concerns raised about hacking, vandalism (including reported torching of a car), cleanliness, and enshittification (fees, tipping prompts, ads) as fleets scale.