travel
Waymo's Self-Driving Car in San Francisco
First Waymo ride in San Francisco. Self-driving Jaguar I-PACE, booked through the app. The car didn't stop where we indicated—we had to walk a block to board.
I took my first Waymo ride in San Francisco. The car was a white Jaguar I-PACE with the full sensor array on top.
[!TIP] The car may stop a block from your requested pickup. Unlock the doors from the app and walk to it.
We booked through Waymo’s app in the Mission. The pickup process was simple enough, but the car stopped a block away from where we requested it. We walked over and unlocked the doors from the app.
The backseat screen lets you pick music, adjust temperature, and watch a live map of the route. It felt like sitting in a very polite taxi that nobody was driving.
The car handled traffic without hesitation. It changed lanes smoothly, cleared intersections, and yielded for a cyclist cutting in. The driving reminded me of Tesla’s FSD—and years later, Tesla launched its own robotaxi in SF with a safety driver. Except with Waymo, there was no one behind the wheel at all.
The empty driver seat is the strangest part. The steering wheel turns on its own. You keep glancing up front, expecting someone to intervene, but no one does.
A Swiss Re study later found that Waymo vehicles have 88% fewer property damage claims than human drivers. That tracks — the car drove more carefully than most people do on SF streets.