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I saw a Waymo vehicle in person for the first time at the Mubadala DC Open, and my curiosity immediately kicked in.

You mean to tell me this car can pull up, pick up passengers, and drive them around with nobody sitting behind the wheel?

Ummm…excuse me?

Of course, I had to find out more because I’m curious. And if these cars are coming to the Washington, D.C. area, I need to know exactly what we’re working with here.

What Is Waymo?

Waymo is an autonomous ride-hailing service. Think Uber or Lyft, but the vehicle drives itself. Yes, you read that correctly: there is no human driver sitting behind the wheel.

The vehicle uses cameras, radar, lidar and other technology to see what is happening around it, navigate the road and get passengers to their destinations. Waymo describes itself as the world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service and says its technology is designed to offer riders a safe, private and convenient way to travel.

According to the company, Waymo has already provided more than 20 million rides. So, while the idea still feels very futuristic to me, plenty of people have already climbed into one of these vehicles and let the car do the driving.

Where Can You Ride in a Waymo?

Waymo is currently serving riders in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, San Antonio and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The company is also preparing to expand into several additional cities, including Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

Waymo also lists London and Tokyo among its upcoming locations, so driverless ride-hailing is not stopping at the U.S. border.

Because service areas and launch plans can change, you can visit Waymo’s Where We Operate section to see where rides are currently available and which cities are coming soon.

Would I Ride in a Driverless Car?

Now, I’m intrigued. I’m also the woman who wants to know exactly who or what is making the decisions when traffic gets wild.

Does the car know what to do when somebody cuts across three lanes without using a turn signal? What happens when construction reroutes everything? Can it handle pedestrians stepping into the street while staring at their phones? And most importantly, can it handle the special brand of road foolishness we experience around the DMV (Washington, DC, Maryland & Northern Virginia)?

Waymo says its vehicles are built to navigate real-world situations and that its technology does not get tired, angry or distracted. Honestly, that may already put it ahead of a few human drivers I’ve encountered.

BUT….I still have questions.

To Ride or Not to Ride?

That is the question.

I’m curious enough to want to try Waymo at least once. However, when that vehicle pulls up and I see an empty driver’s seat, I may need a minute, a little prayer, and maybe a cup of “coffee” before I hop in. 🤭 I mean, I guess I can treat my first like I did when teaching my daughters to drive.

Technology keeps moving forward, and Waymo gives us a peek at what transportation may look like in more cities very soon. Whether I’m ready to sit back and let a car drive me through D.C. traffic without a person behind the wheel is another story.

But you never know. MomJonz may take a ride in one someday. All in the name of research, of course. And yep! I’ll come back here and tell you all about it! 🥰

What about you? Would you take a ride in a car with no human driver, or would you smile, wave, and wait for the next Uber?

To ride or not to ride, what’s your answer?

And no, this isn’t a sponsored post for Waymo.

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