A new survey found that only 5% of Angelenos have taken a Waymo in the last year, despite the cars being spotted all over Los Angeles.
LA Barometer found that the percentage of Waymo usage is significantly less than the number of Ubers or Lyfts Angelenos have taken in the same time span, about 28%.
LA Barometer’s Kyla Thomas told KNX News’ Karen Adams that this difference may be due to the robotaxi’s limited coverage across L.A.
“Waymo's coverage is not equivalent to Uber and Lyft's coverage,” she said. “When we see that expand, we're curious to see how Waymo stacks up against Uber and Lyft.”
The survey also found mixed reviews on Waymos. Specifically, women riding with Waymo compared to other rideshare companies felt safer from harassment or crime, according to Thomas.
But when it comes to accidents or injury, Waymo fared worse than other L.A. transit, Thomas said.
Jason, a frequent Waymo rider, said the cars were cleaner and drove better than competitors.
“In my experience, the times that I've taken it, the driving has been better than any human,” he told Adams. “I like not having to interact at all, but be able to concentrate on either a phone call or whatever I'm doing.
The survey finds that mostly younger, educated white Angelenos are more likely to take a Waymo than other demographics.
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