Editor’s note: Christine is an SF Trusted Tester who uses Waymo to pick up and drop off her five year old son at school. As a working mom, she appreciates the luxury Waymo gives her to spend time with her son on the way to school and the opportunity to get work done in a professional space on the way home. Read on to hear more about her experience and feedback so far.
Hi Christine – thanks for being a Trusted Tester! Before we dive into your experience, we’d love to hear more about you and your life in San Francisco.
Of course. I’m a working mom living in the Sunset district. I have a five year old son and another baby that just arrived, which we’re really excited about! I’ve been in the San Francisco area for 12 years now and currently work in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Congratulations! That’s so exciting. How do you and your family usually get around the city, and how have you incorporated Waymo into your routine?
We have a family sedan we use and also have electric bikes. My son is currently going to school in the Marina district about 30 minutes away, so that’s what I usually use the car for, while my husband mostly uses the e-bikes to get around.
Now, I mostly use Waymo to commute to the Marina and back for pickup and dropoffs, around five to six times a week.
How did you first hear about us and what made you want to be a Trusted Tester?
From seeing the cars around the city! Then sometime late last year, I saw on SFGate that you were allowing Trusted Testers to apply, so I filled in the application on the app. I thought I wouldn’t be selected, but when I did hear back I was like “is this real?!”
I’ve been involved in accidents with distracted drivers as both a passenger and driver in the other vehicle, so I’m a strong supporter of this technology. It would be wonderful if we could have something that was actually paying attention to the road, on the road, as well as all the economic advantages that come with it and not having to own personal vehicles.
What have you (and your son’s!) thoughts been so far?
In general, my son’s been enjoying it; he loves all the noises inside the vehicle, like the chimes, beeping, and notification messages, and he loves being part of science, which is what I tell him we’re doing. He also likes pointing out all the other Waymo vehicles and thinks that’s really fun.
For me, it’s been a pretty good experience. When we get picked up, the neighbors are always asking about it. There are some difficulties with vehicle availability sometimes and minor routing challenges, but those are understandable at this point.
He’s definitely part of science indeed! Anything else you’d like to share with us, Christine?
Not at the moment. I’m excited to see what the future brings, and I hope autonomous vehicles will make our city safer and less congested.