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Transit rewards

258 points · 348 comments · raybb

  1. novia · · focus · HN ↗
    Waymo pays you $2.85 in Waymo credit to take the train

    (Waymo takes $2.85 off your next ride if you take the train)

    I live in East Bay, and I often take gratuitous Waymo trips all the way across the city to Embarcadero Station to ride BART back home. I do this because I like seeing the pretty skyscrapers and the bustling city and the pretty townhomes painted interesting colors. They may want to rethink their reward structure a bit to avoid paying out to people like me.

    1. evmar · · focus · HN ↗
      A trick I learned from an east bay friend is that (when possible) the bus across the bridge is way nicer than the BART under the bay, especially around sunset.
      1. HaloZero · · focus · HN ↗
        The NL and other transbay buses are so fantastic. They do get stuck in bridge traffic though.
        1. andrepd · · focus · HN ↗
          A bus that gets stuck in traffic is by definition a failure. It will (again by definition) never be a viable alternative to driving, meaning a reinforcing loop where more driving means more traffic for the bus to be stuck on, meaning the bus is even slower and less attractive...
          1. paavope · · focus · HN ↗
            > It will (again by definition) never be a viable alternative to driving

            I don’t follow the logic here. Why would a bus (periodically) getting stuck in traffic forever invalidate it in comparison to getting stuck in the same traffic in a car?

            1. mitxela · · focus · HN ↗
              In aggregate, people go the fastest way - no way to stop this from happening. In places where everyone takes public transit, the transit is fast. To make more people take public transit, you make the transit fast.

              Reserving lanes as bus lanes can actually speed up car traffic by making more people switch to bus.

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