San Francisco’s hot tourist attraction: driverless cars
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Passers-by stop to photograph a self-driving car from Waymo in San Francisco on May 16.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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SAN FRANCISCO – When Mr David De Clercq travelled to San Francisco last year, he had a few musts on his itinerary: Go to Alcatraz. Try new restaurants. And ride in a self-driving car.
Self-driving cars – also known as autonomous vehicles (AVs) or colloquially, robotaxis – have been plying the streets of the US city in some form since 2009 and have been operating commercially since August. The cars are also shaping up as the city’s latest tourist attraction.
Mr De Clercq, 42, who splits his time between New Jersey and Sardinia, where he owns restaurants and bars and rents villas, is an avid traveller.
“I love exploring and doing new things,” he said. “I knew that I definitely wanted to get a ride while I was in town.”
What, where and how to ride
Conversations abound on Reddit and social platform X, with visitors seeking advice on how to secure a ride while in San Francisco or be well positioned to spot a driverless car on the go.
While AV companies such as Cruise and Zoox have proliferated in recent years, Waymo, which is owned by Alphabet (Google’s parent company), is currently the only company offering rides to the public in San Francisco.
Waymo also operates in the Phoenix metro area, including offering rides to and from Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport. It is slowly rolling out rides in Los Angeles and testing trips in the San Francisco Peninsula and Austin, Texas.
In Phoenix, you can hail a Waymo using an Uber app. In all other locations, downloading a Waymo app – that is very similar to other ride-hailing services, with comparable pricing too – is required.
In almost all service areas, there is a waiting list to be granted access. Ms Anjelica Price-Rocha, a public relations manager for Waymo, said the wait is shorter in San Francisco than Los Angeles.
“For anyone visiting San Francisco, I would suggest that you get on the wait-list as soon as you book your trip,” she said.
Looking to spot a Waymo car on the go? She says popular pick-up and drop-off locations include tourist draws such as Ferry Building, Pier 39, Coit Tower and Japantown Peace Plaza.
Self-driving cars have been navigating the streets of San Francisco in some form since 2009.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
A futuristic attraction
Not able to get direct access in time? Try asking friends, family or colleagues if they will invite you on a ride.
Mr Jason Karsh, a 38-year-old San Francisco resident who works as a tech marketing executive and consultant, regularly “hails” Waymo cars and suggests riding in them as a tourist activity.
“San Francisco has got a bad rep for visitors recently,” he said. “This is a reminder that San Francisco also is a place that’s living a few years into the future technologically.”
Waymo taps the all-electric Jaguar I-pace outfitted with radar, lidar (light detection and ranging), sensors as well as internal and external cameras. You use the app to unlock the car when it arrives and play music during your ride.
Four seats are available – you can sit in front but not in the driver’s seat (if you try, the car will not move).
A real-life customer support team remotely monitors your ride for unsafe activity and is available should you require assistance.
Mr Karsh described a recent ride with colleagues: “They immediately got out their phones and began filming, almost like they were taping a celebrity or a concert.”
Indeed, riding in a Waymo can turn you into the main attraction.
Mr De Clercq, visiting from New Jersey, described his ride home from a night out in Chinatown as “very interesting and futuristic. It was extremely cautious and quite slow”.
According to safety data from the company, Waymos are significantly safer than human drivers. That has not prevented public backlash over AVs – California suspended Cruise vehicles from operating in San Francisco after a pedestrian was hit and dragged under a vehicle.
There have been regular complaints of Waymo cars blocking traffic and emergency vehicles. Crashes, largely involving stationary objects, have led to a federal investigation of the company.
In Mr Karsh’s experience, Waymo rides are sometimes less than seamless because they are too cautious.
“If there’s a car stopped with the hood up on a two-lane street, a human driver will know to go around. A Waymo might just sit there,” he said.
Passengers inside a self-driving car from Waymo in San Francisco on May 16.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
From awe and delight to near normalcy
But perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of a first-time Waymo ride is how quickly it feels normal.
“For the first couple of minutes, there’s this giddiness,” Ms Price-Rocha said. “But we see that, really quickly, people just ease into the experience.”
Mr Karsh saw this shift happen first-hand on a recent trip to New York City when his family opted for a ride in a yellow cab.
“My 3½-year-old son turns to me and my wife and says: ‘Look, Daddy, a driver.’ He was kind of shocked.” NYTIMES
