"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.
Right, just like how everything else has been getting cheaper and cheaper these few decades.
The strategy of using Investor money to subsidize while building a user base doesn’t do wonders for price drops.