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Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

(www.cnbc.com)

597 points achristmascarl | 1 comments | 22 Aug 25 17:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.436s | source

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Night_Thastus ◴[22 Aug 25 17:37 UTC] No.44987324[source]▶

>>44986949 (OP) #

I'm cautiously optimistic about this self-driving thing. Waymo at least seems to have figured out a lot of it.

Would it be way better to make walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use developments, and reliable and frequent public transit?

Yes. Yes it would.

But, in lieu of that, self-driving has a lot of advantages in the long run, even if the technology isn't 100% perfect right now.

replies(3): >>44987428 #>>44987467 #>>44988121 #

1. kevincox ◴[22 Aug 25 17:49 UTC] No.44987467[source]▶

I think taxis have a place even in cities with great transportation. I live in Toronto and 90% of my commuting is walking, 8% public transit and 2% driving. But there are some trips that would be very difficult to do a way other than driving (for example carrying lots of stuff or awkward cargo) and taxis fill that gap wonderfully. Especially if self-driving taxis could handle long trips a lot better as inter-city is a place where Toronto public transit unfortunately sucks (for example visiting my parents in cottage country).