From now until November 15th, riders will get an expirable discount when taking a driver-less chariot to an SF Bay Area public transit station.
San Francisco has an incredibly contentious relationship with robotaxis.
They’re a documented pain, coming to complete stops for no reason and causing happenstance traffic; nearly hitting people walking through crosswalks or getting out of cars; these self-driving cars have severely injured people — and in one case dragged a woman within an inch of her life. (Btw: Still fuck off, Cruise.) Many of the companies behind these driverless vehicles actively lobby against legislation that would otherwise expand and bolster public transit.
Yet, there’s no denying their infectious and convenient novelty, though. (I mean, if I’m half-drunkenly calling a car for me and a cute boy, I’m calling a Waymo — aggressively making out and feeling each other up and down in the presence of an unsuspecting human driver at 2:03 a.m. is just monstrous behavior!) It’s one of the first things friends and family say when they visit: “Can we take a ride in one of those self-driving Teslas?” Those “Teslas” are Jaguars,” though … but the sentimental affinity still stands.
Your next Waymo trip, be it solo or with friends or family, could be discounted … so long as your destination is any one of a handful of public transit stations in San Francisco and down the Peninsula.
“Waymo One riders that connect to select transit stations in San Francisco and the Peninsula will receive a $3.00 credit on their Waymo account for use on future rides,” reads a blog post from the company published on October 17th. The monetary incentive is a proxy to highlight the company’s commitment to improving micromobility and lowering carbon dioxide emissions in cities where its fleets of robotaxis are used.
Currently, the credit is only receivable if going to one of the following regional public transit stations:
- BART station in Colma, Daly City
- BART and Muni stations at Balboa Park and Glen Park
- Muni stations at West Portal, Revere / Shafter (T Third Street line)
- Caltrain station at 4th & King Street off 22nd Street in San Francisco
Waymo also announced in tandem that the company has launched a page dedicated to sustainability, particularly how its missions, goals, and current practices are helping better local environments; scrolling through the glossy images and retention-grabbing infographics, and you’ll see that Waymo’s primary energy partners in the Bay Area provide its operations with 100% renewable electrons
But once you do receive those credits, make sure to use them up and not stockpile them. Once this pilot program is done, any credits accrued through it will be unusable.
“Credits will be applied to riders’ Waymo accounts when they take Waymo One to or from eligible Bay Area transit stations,” continues Waymo. “This pilot program will run through November 15 and credits will be available for use until December 31, 2024.
The answers and betterments to improving urban micromobility are multipronged and contextually faceted; there’s no one clear path toward improved mobility in a city, but rather a constellation of methodologies and action plans that all complement one another.
Make no mistake: Robotaxis shine as a much, much (much) duller star in that galactic cluster. But it’s nice to know you can earn some expirable credits while en route to a much, much (much) brighter sun.
No mention of Prop L? The timing of this “perk” is suspiciously close to an election in which rideshare and robotaxis have spent millions to defeat a tax aimed to benefit public transit. These vouchers are cheap for Waymo compared to what they’re up against and will likely sway some voters.