We’ve heard whispers about Uber’s ambitious, futuristic plans to roll out driverless rides for years now, but the concept seemed to be so outlandish, many figured it would never gain widespread adoption. Do we really want autonomous vehicles – with absolutely no one manning them – out here in these streets?
As it turns out, some people don’t mind.
One woman, a TikTokker with the moniker @brittanylindsay_, shared her first-time experience with an Uber driverless car (which is actually a Waymo vehicle used by Uber) on TikTok, and in between her hilarious quips, and amid her rollercoaster of emotions (i.e., fear, curiosity, and excitement), we had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of how it all works.
How to hop into a driverless Uber
It's unclear where, exactly, the TikTokker hailed her driverless ride, but according to TechCrunch, Uber announced in late May that Waymo’s self-driving cars will be available in its app, starting with Phoenix, AZ.
According to the TikToker’s experience, here are the steps to hopping aboard a driverless Uber.
Fire up the Uber app and enter your pickup and drop-off locations.
If driverless rides are available in your area, a "self driving" option should appear, allowing you to request an autonomous car. If you’re brave enough, go ahead and book it.
Your driverless ride should meet you at your pick up location. According to the TikTok video, you’ll be prompted to unlock the car within the Uber app.
When you get in, you’ll see an interactive tablet that says, "Start the ride." When you’re ready to go, go ahead and tap on it.
The doors will lock and the self-driving car will drive you to your location. On the dashboard, you’ll get updates on your estimated time of arrival.
"This is the future," @brittanylindsay_ said. However, she added that she would only take a driverless Uber if she had plenty of time to spare. "It literally goes the speed limit," she said, appearing to be frustrated by the car’s snail-like pace.
A quick background on Uber’s move to self-driving cars
As mentioned, Uber users in the Metro Phoenix area can summon Waymo self-driving cars in the app. It’s also worth noting that Waymo, itself, operates a few hundred driverless vehicles in Phoenix, too, as well as San Francisco. It’s also testing its services in Austin and Los Angeles.
However, what tickles us about Uber’s partnership with Waymo is that they’re former legal adversaries. Long story short, Uber reportedly saw Waymo as a threat. After all, it’s a subsidiary of Alphabet (parent company of Google), and it’s a leading company in the robotaxi industry. As such, in 2015, Uber launched its own autonomous car division to compete against Waymo. Two years later, Waymo sued Uber for allegedly stealing trade secrets. (Uber hired Anthony Levandowski, a cofounder of Waymo, who spilled a little too much tea about Google’s self-driving arm.) The two companies eventually settled their legal battle in 2018, and this year, Uber announced that it’s teaming up with Waymo.
It’s a partnership that’s mutually beneficial for both parties. Waymo can take advantage of Uber’s massive user base and Uber can deliver cutting edge services to its customers. There is, however, a larger discussion of how this emerging technology may threaten the jobs of millions of Uber and Lyft drivers, but that’s another article for another day.
