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Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City

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597 points achristmascarl | 1 comments | 22 Aug 25 17:02 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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fsaid ◴[22 Aug 25 18:09 UTC] No.44987720[source]▶
Waymo should add a thin layer of "assertiveness" for actual deadlock that their self-driving architecture could cause.

While in Austin, I was in a Waymo that blocked 3 lanes of incoming traffic while attempting to merge into a lane going into the opposite direction. It was a super unorthodox move, but none of the drivers (even while stopped for a red light) would let the Waymo* merge into their lane.

Thank God for the tinted windows, people were pulling their phones out to record (rightly so). It felt like I was responsible for holding up a major portion of Austin 5 pm traffic on a Friday.

Wish it just asserted itself ever-so-slightly to get itself out.

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dgs_sgd ◴[22 Aug 25 18:18 UTC] No.44987836[source]▶
I think we're going to see more examples of this as Waymo's popularity grows. Basically human drivers taking advantage of Waymo's far more passive driving style. Maybe some rules of the road will have to change, or the Waymos will get dedicated lanes to solve this problem.
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freeone3000 ◴[22 Aug 25 18:21 UTC] No.44987883[source]▶
Imagine if we had dedicated lanes for giant Waymos, that could hold dozens of people. The future of transport.
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crazygringo ◴[22 Aug 25 19:30 UTC] No.44988831[source]▶
You joke, but the reality is going to be dynamic self-driving buses that don't have preset routes or stops but respond to instant demand.

You'll pay $$$ for a nonstop ride into midtown in a dedicated vehicle, or $ for a short dedicated ride to a self-driving bus you only need to wait a few minutes for, and which will drop you off on your destination block.

So yes -- self-driving buses seamlessly integrated into ride sharing are certainly going to be a major part of 21st century urban transportation. Which will save a ton of time compared to current buses.

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1. buu700 ◴[22 Aug 25 22:24 UTC] No.44990626[source]▶
I could also see potential efficiencies to scheduling your bus stops in advance, maybe with some configuration to set how far you're willing to walk, how long you're willing to wait, how long a grace period you want in the event that you're running late, what time you need to arrive by, how many seats you need, and whether or not you need access to luggage/bike storage. (Each of these values would of course impact the cost of your trip; in the worst case scenario, if your configuration couldn't be reconciled with enough other people's to fit you into an efficient bus ride, then you might just be offered a regular car ride.)

You could even set that up on a recurring schedule, sort of like a school bus system that dynamically adjusts to everyone's locations and requirements and instantly remaps routes as passengers are added and removed to the schedule.