THANKS to Uber’s expanded partnership with a leading tech company, riders can look forward to innovative changes and pricing perks.
For instance, an Uber executive has promised that customers using the new autonomous Waymo rides will benefit from the elimination of tipping as well as fixed pricing once a ride is ordered.
GettyUber is expanding its partnership with Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company[/caption] Riders in Waymo vehicles will no longer need to tip and won’t be subject to price changes once a ride is orderedGettyUber, a multinational transportation company operating in roughly 70 countries and 15,000 cities worldwide, offers ride-hailing, food delivery, and freight transport services to millions of customers.
The transportation giant stands as the largest rideshare platform in the world and has begun venturing into the world of autonomous vehicles, a stark change from its traditional human drivers.
Uber officially partnered with Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company, in May 2023.
After launching the AV tech in Phoenix, Arizona, less than two years ago, Uber has major expansion plans underway, bringing the Waymo vehicles to new cities such as Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia.
In addition to being a unique experience for riders, the driverless technology has a few financial advantages for consumers over traditional Uber rides.
How do autonomous cars work?
Autonomous cars use sensors, algorithms, machine learning systems, and powerful processors.
They can create and maintain a map of the area around them based on several sensors situated in different parts of the car.
Radar sensors are used to keep track of the positions of other cars.
Video cameras can detect traffic lights, read road signs, track other cars, and look out for pedestrians.
A sophisticated software processes all of this information and plots a path for the car to take, sending instructions to the car’s actuators, which control acceleration, braking, and steering.
Hard-coded rules and object recognition help the software follow traffic rules and avoid obstacles.
Source: Synopsys
For example, tipping is a thing of the past with the new Waymo vehicles.
Because customers are delivered to their destinations without the need for a human driver, they will not be prompted to add a tip on the Uber app.
Another ideal aspect of the driverless AVs is that customers will no longer be subject to changing prices once their ride is ordered.
Presently, Uber fares can change after the rider has already paid and even after a trip is complete due to a variety of factors:
Unexpected tolls Route or duration changes Wait times Multi-stop fees Driver paid cash tolls“We made a promise to you on the price when you press the button. We’re not going to switch the price on you,” Sachin Kansal, Uber’s chief product officer, exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
While customers will no longer be subject to tipping practices or changing prices thanks to the new AV fleet, one potential drawback is that Waymo rides currently cost the same as traditional Uber rides, despite the lack of a human driver.
However, Uber aims to eventually drop the price of autonomous rides.
“We definitely believe in the long term that the real opportunity of autonomous technology is that we will be able to be affordable as well as safe at a very large scale,” Noah Zych, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility and delivery operations, told The U.S. Sun.
“Today the affordability is still a work in progress. You don’t have a human in the vehicle, but you do have expensive technology driving the vehicle and doing it reliably and safely, and you do also have a decent amount of support to that vehicle,” he said.
We definitely believe in the long term that is the real opportunity of autonomous technology is that we will be able to be affordable as well as safe at a very large scale.”
Noah ZychUber Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery OperationsZych explained that a large portion of labor went into maintaining the Waymo operations, including employees at the autonomous driving tech company’s vehicle depot as well as the readily available customer service agents.
AUTONOMY AHEAD
Uber rolled out driverless rides via its partnership with Waymo in Phoenix, Arizona, in the fall of 2023.
The transportation company expanded its partnership with Waymo earlier this month, bringing the unique AV experience to Uber customers in Austin, Texas, on March 4.
Now, only on the Uber app, residents who order an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric can be matched with one of Waymo’s fully autonomous all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles.
The Waymo rides are priced the same as traditional Uber rides with a human driver.
However, those hesitant to take a ride in a driverless vehicle can opt to switch to a non-AV ride on the app before the vehicle is sent their way.
What is Uber One?
Uber fans can enroll in the subscription to cut down the cost of food deliveries and car rides.
Uber One is a subscription service that offers benefits like savings on Uber and Uber Eats.
Monthly memberships start at $9.99, while annual memberships begin at $96 (all in USD).
Uber One also has partnerships with third parties that offer a discounted membership to some users.
Uber One subscribers receive a $0 delivery fee plus up to 10% off eligible orders on restaurants and stores marked with the gold Uber One icon.
They’ll also get member pricing on eligible rides.
Users can purchase their subscription directly in the Uber app.
Upon the Waymo’s arrival, Uber users have more control than ever before when it comes to their rides.
They can unlock the AV, open the trunk, and notify the Waymo to start the trip all from the Uber app.
Using a touchscreen in the Waymo, riders will also be able to control the temperature of the vehicle, play music, pull the car over, and access 24/7 customer support.
“One of the things we really want to make sure is that people have a good experience as their first experience with an autonomous vehicle,” Zych told The U.S. Sun.
“The experience is really designed to help get you comfortable with the technology.”
Under the Waymo partnership, Uber customers in Austin can now travel across 37 square miles of the city, from Hyde Park to downtown to Montopolis, with more coverage likely coming soon.
Atlanta, Georgia, is Uber’s next target city, launching its Waymo partnership there “in the coming months,” an Uber spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.
Waymo will roll out a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Atlanta exclusively for its workers in the area at the beginning of this year.
The move was a key step before the AV service is made available to the public later in 2025 exclusively in the Uber app.
Uber fans in other cities can look forward to the potential launch of driverless Waymo rides, as the autonomous driving technology company is sending AVs to 10 new cities this year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego.
However, the vehicles will be driven manually by safety specialists to gather data on how the self-driving system adapts to different driving conditions, traffic patterns, and road designs in diverse environments.
While Waymo is working to expand its commercial robotaxi services, the tests do not necessarily mean that the company will launch the service in the ten cities.
As Uber expands its AV services, the transportation giant has come under fire for “price gouging” that furious customers claim has “gotten worse and worse.”
Meanwhile, the company has made a new deal with Delta, allowing customers to “turn rides into miles” – and fans are calling it a “match made in heaven.”
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