According to The data Offered by OBI, an app that offers real -time prices on the different taxi and transport services in the United States, Waymo’s autonomous cars They cost average $ 20.43 by journey compared to 14.44 of Lyft and the 15.58 of Uber. Even so, users are willing to pay the premium for traveling without a driver.
The conquest of the robotaxis. The analysis of the platform, based on almost 90,000 real trips in San Francisco, reveals that Waymo It charges up to $ 11 more than its competitors at peak hours. However, the demand does not stop growing: the company already makes 250,000 payment trips a week in its first four cities where the service is available. Everything indicates that users value both the experience without driver than are willing to pay a good amount of more for her.
Waymo weekly paths in California. Image: Nat Bullard Data
Different pricing model. Waymo operates with a more basic system of pure supply and demand, while Uber and Lyft have refined their algorithms for more than a decade. Robotaxis have a fixed fleet that grows slowly, which generates greater variability in prices. Short paths They are especially expensive: Less than 1.4 kilometers can cost about $ 26 per kilometer, between 31% and 41% more than competition.
A strategy that works. Surveys show that 70% of those who have tried Waymo prefer to travel without driver. Almost 40% are willing to pay the same price or more, and 16% would agree to pay up to 10 extra dollars per trip. The key is in that “personal bubble” offered by the autonomous car, where the client can travel comfortably without human interaction. And this attracts many.
Safety first. Despite the enthusiasm, 74% of respondents Consider Security His greatest concern about robotaxis. About 70% believe there should be some kind of remote human supervision during the paths, something that It is already practiced usually in the sector.
Lower deployment and expansion times. Waymo Atlanta has just entered and soon it will arrive in Miami and Washington DC. It is collecting data in Las Vegas, Dallas, San Antonio, Nashville and New Orleans. The entry process in new markets is accelerating: now it takes only between one and two years since mapping vans arrive until customers can get on board one of these vehicles.
And in Europe we are also at all. And from 2026, we will begin to see the first circular robotaxis through the United Kingdom and Germany. The surprise is that It will be Lyft, in collaboration with Baiduthose that seem to take the lead to this side of the puddle.
Cover image | Waymo
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