[killion]

This looks like a clickbait study. Waymo is cheaper 100% of the time for me. The two big data points I think they purposely glossed over are:

1. Tip – Uber and Lyft cost 20% more than the ride price.

2. Car quality – Sure, a Corolla on Lyft is cheaper than Waymo. But once you select something desirable the price goes up, a lot.

[dangoodmanUT]

I love Waymo, but Waymo is not cheaper 100% of the time, unless you have that data? I've had Waymo quote me $26 where uber comfort was $11. I could "tip the bill" and still be under Waymo.

[ApolloFortyNine]

>Tip – Uber and Lyft cost 20% more than the ride price.

Idk maybe because I used rideshare apps before they added tipping, but even as someone who tips 20% at restaurants I don't tip rideshares.

The original argument Uber had for not adding it was because 'the fare included it', but seeing people now see it as required does kind of backup why they dragged their feet on adding it.

[BugsJustFindMe]

> but even as someone who tips 20% at restaurants I don't tip rideshares.

Does this not affect your rating?

[kelnos]

My experience is very different. About a year ago I'd agree that Waymo was mostly cheaper or comparable in cost to an Uber/Lyft ride, but in the past 3-6 months I usually see Waymo at 75%-150% more than Uber/Lyft, and yes, I do account for the Uber/Lyft tip when I compare.

[serbuvlad]

What's up with the US tipping culture?

I live in Romania and I only tip restaurants a standard of 10% (not fast food, not coffee, just restaurants). Also delivery people when they help bring heavy stuff into my appartment (theoretically they are only paid to bring it to the block entrance).

Back when I used taxis we would tip those. But I have never tipped an Uber. Or a Glovo (our Door Dash) deliveryman.

[preommr]

Started off as a way to pay people less, especially for odd jobs.

Grew to a point where it's disconnected from the actual value of the service, so people like waiters make way more than if it was priced according to market price, but people pay anyways because it's not about the service, but about not feeling guilty for being cheap. The ecosystem has now found a balance that hurts the consumer, which they're willing to put up with because it's socially ingrained. The people providing a service make more, the business owner doesn't really care, and can't get rid of tips because it's a cutthroat industry and they wouldn't get workers, and higher wages would cause sticker shock, so they too have no incentive to make any changes. The customers group is too big, and don't have enough structure to organize any meaningful change. So it is what it is.

You can see it now, people complain about how tipping is everywhere, including for walk-ins where no table service is provided, but eventually this too will be normalized.

My personal hope is that one day we start tipping our doctors, our dentists, our programmers, to see how big and stupid this dumpster fire can grow.

[OkGoDoIt]

I’ve never seen Waymo be cheaper than Uber/Lyft, but then again the audacity of them charging more even when they are driverless made me stop bothering to check pretty quickly.

One of the selling points of Uber over taxis has always been that you don’t have to tip. I get that some people are excessively generous but it’s absolutely not required.

If you’re the kind of person who is willing to pay more for a fancier car, good for you. I take the bus if it could just get me from point A to point B in a reasonable time, Uber is a last resort that costs 10 times as much as public transit, at least in San Francisco. It’s disgustingly, offensively expensive. And somehow Waymo charges more? Absolutely ridiculous.