{"id":445266,"date":"2026-08-27T16:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/445266\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:48:12","slug":"waymo-in-san-diego-rules-cost-and-what-its-like-inside-a-robotaxi-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/445266\/","title":{"rendered":"Waymo in San Diego: Rules, cost and what it\u2019s like inside a robotaxi \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robotaxis are preparing to pick up passengers in San Diego.<\/p>\n

Waymo received the green light from the state \u2014 officially permitted by both the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission \u2014 to start service later this year.<\/p>\n

Studies have shown that these robotaxis tend to be safer than human drivers \u2014 no road rage, allegedly no plans for world domination. But if your only frame of reference is \u201cTerminator\u201d or the latest viral clip of a Waymo doing something stupid, a little skepticism is fair.<\/p>\n

So the Union-Tribune climbed into the car and road along \u2014 or technically alone \u2014 to get real answers on how these things actually work.<\/p>\n

\"AA Waymo Ojai drives along Tecolote Road in San Diego. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nWhat it feels like inside a Waymo<\/p>\n

The shock and awe of the self-driving steering wheel fades pretty fast, and then, it just feels like being in a minivan.<\/p>\n

The greatest appeal, though, is the ability to customize your ride. Users can unlock the doors, change the music, the temperature and the destination, all through the app or the tablet inside the car.<\/p>\n

And though the blue Ojai EV is spacious, it can only fit four guests. Any more people in your party and riders risk getting their account suspended.<\/p>\n

Where Waymo will (and won\u2019t) go<\/p>\n

In the next few months, Waymo will start by operating in 40 square miles, stretching from Pacific Beach south to Sunset Cliffs, southeast to Barrio Logan, and northeast to Normal Heights. The company is not yet serving the San Diego International Airport, as they are awaiting a permit from the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents in Orange County, Oceanside and Carlsbad will have to wait to ride in a Waymo. The company has started training its cars in these areas north of San Diego, but it has yet to announce an official timeline for servicing riders.<\/p>\n

For now, the company encourages San Diegans to download its app for a chance to be among the first riders here.<\/p>\n

\"SanThe rider\u2019s initials are displayed on what the company calls a “central perception dome” to let users know it’s their car. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nCalling for help when robotaxis go rogue<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been online, you probably know that these self-driving cars screw up. In these instances, the company encourages riders to call on Riders Support, where users can talk to a real human. This service is available 24\/7 through the tablets in the car or the app, and a response is guaranteed within 60 seconds, according to the company.<\/p>\n

Rider Support agents can see through the cameras, hear through the speakers and control the car remotely.<\/p>\n

For a more immediate traffic issue, riders can press the \u201cpull over\u201d button on the tablet or the \u201cdoor\u201d button on the door, and the vehicle will stop when it\u2019s safe.<\/p>\n

If a rider needs help after they\u2019ve left their Waymo \u2014for example, if a rider left behind their purse or other item \u2014 they can contact customer support via email or in-app chat.<\/p>\n

The lost-and-found is located at Waymo\u2019s Element depot, available for pickup the next day. Each city will have its own lost-and-found; the San Diego depot is in Morena. Riders will be given the exact location, but the company doesn\u2019t publicize the location of our offices or depots, said Waymo spokeswoman Sandra Karp.<\/p>\n

\"SanRiders can interact with the tablets inside the Waymo to change the music, temperature and address. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nWho\u2019s allowed in the car<\/p>\n

You \u2014 if you\u2019re over 18 \u2014 and up to three friends are eligible riders.<\/p>\n

Waymo can check who\u2019s in the car by accessing the cameras. The company says that it doesn\u2019t use facial recognition, so it assumes the rider to be the person registered with their app.<\/p>\n

Kids can tag along, but only if they are accompanied by an adult. If a minor is spotted riding alone, the account it was ordered from could get suspended.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we notice that there are riders that are below the age limit, we might call in and just check on things and make sure things are up to our terms of service,\u201d said Karp.<\/p>\n

Pets also aren\u2019t allowed, unless they are a service animal. (Technically, Waymo cannot verify whether an animal is a service animal or not, said Karp, but violating the rules may result in an account suspension or ban.)<\/p>\n

If someone else takes the Waymo you ordered, the company said they would cover the cost and help you order a new one. Karp says \u201cthat\u2019s unlikely\u201d to happen because the user will know it\u2019s their car by checking the initials that are illuminated on top of the car and by unlocking the doors from the app when they are ready to ride.<\/p>\n

Fine print (and fines)<\/p>\n

Waymo likes to emphasize the idea of a \u201cshared fleet.\u201d It\u2019s not your Waymo or my Waymo, it\u2019s our Waymo, and the company wants you to treat it as such, explained Karp.<\/p>\n

Try not to eat in the fleet, but if you do \u201cbe sure to leave no crumbs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For those who self-report a mess during their ride, the fee is $50. For messes that go unreported, Waymo charges riders $100 for a first violation. For subsequent violations, the fee goes up to the cost of cleaning.<\/p>\n

Alcohol, drugs, smoking and vaping also aren\u2019t allowed, and riders caught inside the car will be charged a $100 fee for a first violation.<\/p>\n

Packing more than four friends or putting children in the car without an adult may result in an account suspension.<\/p>\n

What else<\/p>\n

Kissing is allowed, but removing your seatbelt \u2014 or clothing \u2014 is not. \u201cWe are happy to help riders get to a place where they might be able to continue that part of their night,\u201d Karp said, adding that engaging in sexual activity is grounds for immediate removal from the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Waymo has a list of rules that users consent to when ordering a car. A few other key rules: No one is permitted to sit in the driver\u2019s seat, and riders may not bring a weapon into the vehicle.<\/p>\n

A more in-depth list of rules is available online.<\/a> (You can also appeal a ban or charges by contacting the Waymo support team.)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"SanIn San Diego, Waymo will start by operating in 40 square miles, stretching from Pacific Beach south to Sunset Cliffs, southeast to Barrio Logan, and northeast to Normal Heights.(Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nSmile, you\u2019re on camera<\/p>\n

There are 13 high-resolution cameras outside of the vehicle that can see up to\u00a0547 yards in the day and night. There are also three cameras inside the cabin that can see the inside, outside and trunk.<\/p>\n

Waymo records all of its trips. Inside the cabin, both audio and video are recorded during trips.<\/p>\n

Waymo retains the audio and video of the trips for improving its service and addressing safety concerns. The company said it would comply with law enforcement if footage is requested during an investigation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SanThe Waymo records audio and video during rides. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nWho taught the car to drive<\/p>\n

To understand how the cars drive, it\u2019s important to understand how Waymo cars think.<\/p>\n

During the ride-along, Union-Tribune reporters watched the Waymo make a traffic decision in real time. Two trucks had stopped in the middle of the street and blocked its path. Rather than swerve around them into oncoming traffic, the Waymo waited until the vehicle ahead of it cleared the way.<\/p>\n

A Waymo vehicle makes decisions based on both physical data and the semantics it\u2019s learned from hours of training and programming.<\/p>\n

Waymo\u2019s physical sensors \u2014 cameras, radar and lidar \u2014 work a lot like your garage door\u2019s safety sensor: if something breaks the trip line, the system stops.<\/p>\n

But driving requires more complex reasoning than just stop and start. That\u2019s where the system\u2019s \u201cvision language model,\u201d or VLM, comes in. The VLM was trained using Google\u2019s Gemini model to better understand rare, novel and complex scenarios on the road.<\/p>\n

So for example, if Waymo\u2019s cameras process a fire in front of them, the car will stop at a safe distance \u2014 even though the hazardous area is technically passable \u2014 because it was trained to recognize the scenario from data.<\/p>\n

The biggest criticism is the cars\u2019 inability to problem-solve during unexpected traffic incidents, like the grid issue in San Francisco.\u00a0 In December, Waymos were left idling in heavy traffic.<\/a> While they were stuck, some cars completely drained their electric batteries and stalled out in the middle of streets and intersections, worsening the traffic jam.<\/p>\n

As Waymo rolls out in San Diego, the Union-Tribune asked how the cars would react during fires or floods.<\/p>\n

The company didn\u2019t respond specifically to issues regarding natural disasters, but said as Waymo expands it will learn how to better handle these kind of driving scenarios.<\/p>\n

When Waymo breaks the rules<\/p>\n

Waymos have been cited for illegal parking and had to pay a fine. They\u2019ve also been caught in a few fender benders and had to file for insurance claims. \u201cThe rules of the road apply to us, just as they do everyone else,\u201d said Karp. \u201cThe Waymos are designed to adhere to the speed limit\u2026 and we\u2019re designed to also always come to a full stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SensorsSensors equipped with a camera, radar and LiDAR are attached to the rear of the Waymo Ojai. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)
\nFare game: What it actually costs<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no straightforward answer to what a ride actually costs.<\/p>\n

But what the company will say is that its pricing is dynamic. \u2018It\u2019s based on distance and time. So it really depends on the time of day. So if it is busy, prices might be a little higher,\u201d said Karp. Unlike human-operated ride-hailing services, you don\u2019t have to tip.<\/p>\n

While there hasn\u2019t been an official study, anecdotal evidence and reports across the internet consistently say that Waymo is more expensive than Uber in cities where driverless cars have been deployed.<\/p>\n

Waymo chalks it up to simple economics. Because their fleet size lags the market demand, prices surge. Though the company wouldn\u2019t share exact numbers, Waymo is starting with \u201ca few dozen cars in San Diego \u2026 and will gradually scale over time,\u201d said Karp.<\/p>\n

In total, Waymo has over 4,000 cars in 15 cities, up from only 700 last year, according to the company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Robotaxis are preparing to pick up passengers in San Diego. Waymo received the green light from the state…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[387,181,74,76,75,1970,1696],"class_list":["post-445266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-business","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-technology","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}