Riders of Waymo robotaxis in the Bay Area may accumulate a $3 credit for each trip to and from specific public transit stations over the next month
The company announced that riders will have the opportunity to capitalize on the promotion until November 15, and they will be able to apply the credits they accumulate toward future robotaxi journeys until December 31.
The demonstration program is the first among autonomous vehicle operators in the United States.
It follows a recent survey conducted by Waymo, which revealed that 36% of San Francisco passengers have utilized Waymo One, the company’s robotaxi service, to connect to other modes of transportation such as the BART, Muni, or Caltrain.
However, the deal is only applicable to a limited number of stations, primarily in the south and southwest regions of San Francisco:
- BART: Daly City, Colma
- Balboa Park and Glen Park are accessible via BART/Muni.
- Muni: West Portal, Revere/Shafter (Third Street line)
- Caltrain: 4th & King Street, 22nd Street
The credits will be automatically credited to a rider’s account if they travel to or from one of those stations; passengers are not required to provide evidence that they actually used public transportation.
However, the promotion is restricted to a single $3 credit per day for those who are contemplating accruing points by commuting to the stations even when they are not using public transportation.
It is imperative that programs such as this, which facilitate connections to public transportation, become more prevalent, as riders frequently employ multiple modes of transportation to travel from one location to another.
Regrettably, they are scarce; this program is also quite restricted.
A ideal use case for connecting riders to public transportation is shared micromobility. The Seattle Department of Transportation initiated a promotion in September to facilitate the integration of Lime bike and scooter share journeys with public transit.
The Seattle Transit Measure, a 2016 ballot initiative, provides funding for that rewards program.
A spokesperson for Waymo informed TechCrunch that the company has not received financial support from the government or transit agencies for this pilot.
