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Waymo now gives 13- to 17-year-olds robotaxis in Nashville, where car crashes are the leading cause of death for ages 15 to 24. Is this the first generation to skip driving tests? (techcrunch.com)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/futurology@futurology.today
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"There are few limits to the service. The teen account must be connected to a parent or guardian, but once activated, teens can hail autonomous rides anywhere in Waymo’s service area in Nashville — and bring their friends along. Waymo told TechCrunch that teen account holders can bring up to three guests ages 13 to 17…….. it may also be part of the appeal for parents who would rather their kids pile into a Waymo than in a vehicle driven by a teenager. "

Waymo's charges are variable, so it's hard to directly compare the costs of exclusively using it versus car ownership. However, for most young drivers, car ownership costs are probably north of $10k per year, perhaps nearer $15k. That means for the lighter/less frequent drivers, Waymo is probably cheaper. Plus, robotaxis are only going to get cheaper. The day will come when it will be the more economical option for almost all urban drivers.

Another plus point, especially for parents, is how much safer they are. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 24. What premium is there for avoiding the life-changing nightmare of your child dying in a traffic accident?

Once widespread robotaxis were a sci-fi hypothetical, but now it's becoming real. If robotaxis are finally becoming widespread, why learn to drive at all? It will be interesting to see if there's a falloff in the rate of driving tests among the young in Nashville.

Waymo’s latest expansion strategy: teenagers

US DoT Fatality Stats - PDF 6 pages

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[–] 38 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Anything to deny the public access to bus and rail transit.

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  • [–] 13 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    If you squint real hard, it's a bus. In Korea they are running buses that have no fixed routes, can be hailed at bus stops, responsive to demand. Buses can be reimagined too!

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    A bus without set routes that you hail and only holds a few people is not a bus. It's a taxi

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    You can say it's both, and rideshare too. The vehicle is 15 seats, slightly slower than taxi because it make more stops and take more people, and only stop at bus stops, but faster than ordinary buses because it does not make as many stops, only when requested. Also much cheaper than taxis (like < $2 per ride). I feel it is a nice balance, more choices is always better. Way better for society than private car (1 passenger per ride) or taxi (2 passengers per ride)

    Here's a photo https://i.namu.wiki/i/cBBF9X2wMDx0FBBMpZSCbmNnbHkuAP1__Idj6-8OleJjKWZSK91cMGisgLPMYjor6T2ei_XtDg_bj-h8xtlEaruvgIxV9gdVRWkHJckdlOHFkDCpZdb4_VGo8rRsU0WiEBmhtw4s1YPssoSwP4fw9g.webp

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    • [–] 27 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    Kids would skip driving tests if there was good public transit.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago* (1 child)

    Kids are already skipping driving tests even without good public transit. In comparison to when I was growing up, kids these days dont start driving as soon as possible anymore. According to a study by the Federal Highway Administration, far less than half of 16-19 year olds had drivers licenses in 2021. Assumedly it has only continued to decline in the last 5 years. Probably 1/3rd of eligible young people drive

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    • [–] 23 points 1 month ago

    Plus, robotaxis are only going to get cheaper.

    Right, just like how everything else has been getting cheaper and cheaper these few decades.

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    [–] 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    This is just a ploy to get a generation hooked on Robo taxi services instead of learning how to drive

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    • [–] 7 points 1 month ago*

    I have doubts that it's that much safer, given there are other drunk morons waiting to crash into a waymo at every turn.

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    [–] 6 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    car ownership costs are probably north of $10k per year, perhaps nearer $15k

    I'd like to see the cost breakdown for how they came up with that number.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago

    it is in their own interest to make their product look like the economical choice.. so they're probably using the average american new car payment (~ $750/mo) to help inflate the numbers, ignoring the fact that most teens don't own a new car, or even own a car at all. that plus the cost of teen driver insurance on that new car (that the 'bank' owns) will easily get over $10k a year. the 'nearer' to $15k would be adding fuel, licensing, and other routine costs.

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    • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    Gotta get beta testers somehow....

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    [–] 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    No one should be driving. Why the fuck did we let car companies decide how we build our cities? Good human orientated infrastructure means you always have "freedom of movement" they purport without having to spend tens of thousands of dollars personally, excluding taxes for infrastructure.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Once again implying everyone lives in a city and always drives around in a city. Fix the cities, sure, but people outside cities still need to drive.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    You can make whatever argument you want but settlements all come down to design. There was no reason all these places could not have been connected by rail with a last mile shuttle by car. Theres no reason to live miles from your neighbors and the markets besides that you want to. Theres a farm smack dab in the middle of my own neighborhood (not in a cool way its a cash crop). Anything is possible but people want to defend what they know and it sucks that what we know is chaining everyone with increasingly expensive costs to everything.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    There will always be some people that need to drive, yes.

    But I once lived in a rural small town and was close to being able to live without a car, it helped that I could walk to work. If more Americans defaulted to trying to find public transit, the town could have supported public transit for me to live there without a car. There were a couple major employers there too, that could have been served by public transit.

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