Comment by bluGill
11 hours ago
I expect that Waymo will have standards. In theory Uber does as well, but since the drivers own their own cars they can't enforce them. A 15 year old car that has been well maintained is still safe to have on the road (within the limits of the safety systems on board), while a 6 year old car with a lot of miles that hasn't been maintained can be deadly.
Yeah I’ve almost never got in an Uber that was notably unclean or damaged in some way in London. Most of the times I’ve got one in SF, it’s been an unpleasant experience and so I now Waymo when I can there.
You may be right, but historically speaking, "this company will stick to quality standards" is a bad bet compared to "this company will cut corners to squeeze out more profit".
I think the apt comparison is the rental car business. They are reasonably good at quality standards because the competition is stiff, and if the vehicles aren't reliable and clean, you will just use the company next door. This incentivizes prudent fleet management, and thanks to economies of scale, having in-house mechanics to constantly maintain the fleet quickly becomes cost efficient.