San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO) has been the lone empty dot in Waymo’s expanded protection space that spans the San Francisco peninsula from the town by means of Mountain View and Palo Alto, all the best way to San Jose.
I have been ready for years to hop a robotaxi to SFO, and after a lot back-and-forth with airport authorities, the service lastly began rolling out regularly on Thursday. I took it for a spin.
For now, it isn’t one thing I can advocate as a fast or reasonably priced option to make your flight. For my journey to the airport on Thursday, Waymo value $46.47, Lyft value $33.96, and Uber was $37.93. For the return journey, Waymo value $59.48, Lyft $36.95, and Uber was $46.93. As with all ride-hail companies, pricing varies (and you do not have to tip a Waymo), however in my expertise, Waymo prices 40-80% extra than its rivals, whatever the vacation spot.
All Aboard the AirTrain
The important thing difficulty is that the service stops at an space removed from the terminals, on the automotive rental heart. Even getting there takes additional time. The freeway drops Uber, Lyft, and taxis straight on the terminals. Waymos exit the freeway earlier and must navigate floor streets and signaled intersections to get to the rental automotive heart. From there, you’re taking the airport’s free AirTrain to or from the terminal. It runs each 4 minutes at its peak, including 15 to twenty minutes to the journey relying on which terminal you’re utilizing.
(Credit score: SFO/Rakesh Agrawal)
In regular site visitors, it takes about 20-25 minutes to get from downtown San Francisco to SFO. Utilizing Waymo primarily doubles that point. My Waymo journey took 51 minutes. A path to the terminal on Google Maps on the time was estimated at 21 minutes. As a result of Waymos are set to obey the velocity restrict, you may’t inform one to “step on it,” like you may an Uber or Lyft driver. (I attempted, it didn’t work.)
For departing passengers, Waymo is at a big drawback to Uber, Lyft, and taxis. The others can take you proper to the curb in entrance of the terminal. Professional gamers can go straight to the drop-off level for the doorways with the safety checkpoint or the elite desk. Bonus: I’ve discovered that almost all human drivers will allow you to together with your baggage.
For arriving passengers, there’s nonetheless a drawback, although rather less. As an alternative of selecting up curbside, for Uber and Lyft, it’s a must to cross the roadway over a sky bridge to the highest of the parking storage. For the worldwide terminals, you may simply cross the highway.
Get Our Finest Tales!
Your Every day Dose of Our High Tech Information
By clicking Signal Me Up, you verify you’re 16+ and conform to our Phrases of Use and Privateness
Coverage.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Regulate your inbox!
(Credit score: Rakesh Agrawal)
With Waymo, you continue to must take the AirTrain all the best way again to the automotive rental heart. The signage is poor. It’s straightforward to determine the place to choose up an Uber or Lyft, however good luck discovering the Waymo location. (The app isn’t very useful both.) It’s solely after you get to the automotive rental heart that there’s something that refers to Waymo.
My check was with my commonplace carry-on. For a household with baggage and strollers or skiers dragging gear, taking a Waymo can be a good worse choice. The one state of affairs the place I can think about utilizing it’s if I needed to take a confidential telephone name throughout my journey to the airport. The non-public telephone sales space would take longer and price extra, however I wouldn’t have an Uber driver eavesdropping. I’d simply want to complete my name earlier than getting on the AirTrain.
Really useful by Our Editors
(Credit score: Rakesh Agrawal)
Waymo remains to be working with the airport to attempt to enhance its placement. Waymo says it “plans to serve further airport areas just like the terminals sooner or later.” That’s occurred prior to now. At Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport, Waymo moved from the Sky Practice stations close to the terminals in late 2022 and to the terminals in 2024, in accordance with a Waymo spokesman. (It is also obtainable on the San José Mineta Worldwide Airport.)
I think about that, for pick-ups, Waymo will be capable to get the identical remedy as Uber and Lyft. That space is properly organized, with marked parking areas. Nevertheless, I don’t foresee curbside drop-offs at SFO any time quickly. The curb at an airport is the definition of entropy. Folks come out of nowhere. Vehicles are double- and triple-parked. Site visitors police information autos. Persons are sleepy and simply off flights. They’re misplaced and rotated. Worldwide vacationers can’t learn the indicators. Baggage falls off carts. There are tall buses and resort shuttles. Airports reward social negotiation and casual rule-breaking.
Autonomous autos have improved because the days once they had been programmed to drive like grandmas, however they’ve an extended option to go earlier than they’ll deal with the chaos at a big airport like SFO. Or they must change into so in-demand that the airport reconfigures roadways to higher accommodate them.
Though my expertise wasn’t nice, at the least I didn’t get pushed round in circles.
Waymo Battles ChatGPT: Which AI Has Extra Lasting Energy?
About Our Professional
Rakesh Agrawal
Contributor
Expertise
Rakesh is a San Francisco-based entrepreneur and analyst exploring how expertise reshapes society. He focuses on the human aspect of expertise, particularly AI and autonomous autos. As soon as, he practically interviewed Richard Branson in a Vegas marriage ceremony chapel earlier than being redirected to Branson’s penthouse suite. Learn extra on his weblog.
