San Francisco Parents Are Using Waymo’s Self-Driving Robotaxis to Shuttle Their Kids Around. They Might Have Given the Company an Idea

Although it may be hard to believe, kids and teens sometimes commute more than adults do. From school and sports practice to friends’ houses and stores—they’ve got places to be. Given that many kids and teens are carless, it typically falls on parents to drive them around wherever they need or want to go. Thinking back to how many places I needed to go as a teen, that sounds horrible.

Parents in San Francisco, notorious for having time-consuming jobs, have found a potential solution: Waymo’s self-driving robotaxis.

“It was instantly awesome.” That’s what Chris, whose last name wasn’t provided, told The San Francisco Standard last week. Chris has a 15-year-old daughter who sometimes uses Waymo to take her to and from theater practice near the Civic Center, according to the outlet.

“We don’t have to worry about her getting home, ever,” Chris said, adding that his daughter takes about five Waymo rides per month.

Another San Francisco resident, who works as a venture capitalist, told the outlet he and his wife had been sending their middle school-aged children to school in a Waymo two to four times a month for the past year.

For parents, convenience and safety is key. In an interview with the Standard, the venture capitalist said that his kids wouldn’t feel comfortable in an Uber or a Lyft, but that “they feel perfectly comfortable in a Waymo.” As a parent, he likes it because he can track the robotaxi.

Chris also cited safety when speaking about the benefits of Waymo, pointing out the lack of strangers involved.

“There’s no driver to attack her. There’s no human interaction to create a disturbance,” he said.

There’s one problem: Waymo’s rules don’t allow minors to travel alone. While Chris and the venture capitalist interviewed by the outlet gush about Waymo, they took care not to give their last names so they wouldn’t be banned from using the service. Currently, Waymo’s rules prohibit people under the age of 18 from using the robotaxi service without being accompanied by an adult.

From Waymo’s support page:

Bring friends or family whenever you’d like, but remember a few things:

You must ride in the car with your guests during the entire trip

Kids 17 years old and younger can ride with you as guests

The Google-owned service is considering launching a program for minors. Underage use of Waymo might currently be against the company’s rules, but there are signs that could be changing. Waymo told TechCrunch that it was looking into the option.

“We have been exploring the potential for authorized teenagers to access [Waymo] under their guardians’ supervision and have received promising feedback from our research in this area,” the spokesperson said.

The new program could purportedly be called “Waymo Teen,” the Standard reported, citing a survey sent to riders to gauge their interest about such an offering. The survey also included details on what the program could look like and cost. Plans could range from $150 to $250 per month for 8-16 rides and include pickup and drop notifications, in addition to human safety checks.

Xataka On reached out to Waymo for comment on Friday morning but didn't immediately hear back.

Following in Uber’s footsteps. If Waymo does decide to offer a program for underage riders, it wouldn’t be the first company to do so. Last year, Uber launched teen accounts on its platform for teens aged 13 to 17 years old in select cities in the U.S. and Canada.

Uber says that its program only pairs experienced and highly-rated drivers with teens. It also offers safety features, such as pins 4-digit pins to verify rides and live trip-tracking for parents.

Images | Waymo

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