Waymo’s robot taxi service is improving, but riders still have complaints

Waymo’s robot taxi service is improving, but riders still have complaints

Waymo is operating its self-driving ride-hailing service in two cities: Phoenix, with some paying customers and some riding for free, and Silicon Valley, with just employees as passengers. A majority of riders leave positive feedback about their experiences riding in Waymo’s robot taxis, but there are still some notable complaints, according to internal data reviewed by The Information.

The Information reviewed feedback on 10,500 trips that took place in July and August. Those comments are left by anonymous passengers through Waymo’s mobile app. Most of the rides — 6,100 — took place in the suburbs of Phoenix, with the rest occurring in the Bay Area. Of those 10,500 trips, 70 percent received the highest rating of five stars, while 30 percent were rated four stars or less. That’s down from 40 percent negative complaints from a previous batch of data that was reviewed by The Information. (Anything less than five stars is considered “negative” by Waymo.)

The feedback provides a rare window into the progress of the company that is seen as possessing the most advanced self-driving technology on the road today. Despite using public roads, Waymo is not obligated to disclose customer feedback to local regulators. Some of their customers are required to sign nondisclosure agreements to test the vehicles, while others pay for the service and aren’t subjected to NDAs.

Read more : https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/26/20833215/waymo-self-driving-car-taxi-passenger-feedback-review