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<\/div>Contract, Schmontract<\/h2>
Michael Richardson is one lucky guy.<\/p>
In mid-September, self-driving car company Waymo accepted the technologist and entrepreneur into its early rider program<\/a> in Phoenix, Arizona.<\/p> Like all riders, Richardson signed a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), a legal contract forbidding him from talking about his experience as a Waymo rider. Now he’s getting away with violating that contract, and what he had to say answers several key questions about the service — while leaving many others unanswered.<\/p> On Wednesday, Richardson agreed to an interview<\/a> with Ars Technica<\/em>, telling the publication that Waymo had freed him from his NDA. It turns out he was mistaken — Richardson was still legally bound to keep quiet about the rides he’d taken in the company’s autonomous vehicles.<\/p> Nevertheless, Waymo agreed to let Ars<\/em> run its story. And in a move that surely caused Richardson to breathe a huge sigh of relief, it also promised it wouldn’t pursue legal action against him.<\/p> That bit of goodwill on the part of Waymo should temper some of the not-so-positive news in the Ars<\/em> story.<\/p> As part of the early rider program, Richarson took two round-trip rides with Waymo: one on September 28 and another on October 6. During his interview, the Waymo rider noted multiple limitations with the service, including a small coverage area, a higher cost than Uber and Lyft, and restricted pick-up and drop-off locations. He also claimed his vehicles took longer routes than necessary to avoid a freeway and a tricky left turn.<\/p> Perhaps most troubling, he also initially told Ars<\/em> that he saw safety drivers take control of the vehicles on multiple occasions. According to Waymo’s records, however, a safety driver only took over once, and Richardson later admitted that he may have misremembered.<\/p> Of course, if Richardson got one part of his story wrong, there’s a chance the rest of it isn’t airtight. He also hasn’t ridden with Waymo since it launched its commercial service, Waymo One<\/a>, meaning the company could have already worked out some of the kinks he noticed two-plus months ago.<\/p> Waymo does plan to lift the NDA restriction<\/a> on riders who transition to Waymo One, so we should be getting a wider range of views on the company’s vehicles in the near future.<\/p> Still, this is our first look inside one of Waymo’s cars from the perspective of a Waymo rider, and it certainly wasn’t all negative.<\/p> “I’m impressed by what the vehicle can do and how well it gets around,” Richardson told Ars<\/em>. “It’s very, very impressive.”<\/p> READ MORE: <\/strong>We Finally Talked to an Actual Waymo Passenger—here’s What He Told Us<\/a> [Ars Technica<\/em>]<\/p> More on Waymo One: Waymo Has Officially Launched a Self-Driving Taxi Service<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> The post A Waymo Rider Talked Publicly About the Service — Even Though He Wasn’t Supposed To<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Here is the original post: Contract, Schmontract Michael Richardson is one lucky guy. In mid-September, self-driving car company Waymo accepted the technologist and entrepreneur into its early rider program in Phoenix, Arizona. Like all riders, Richardson signed a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), a legal contract forbidding him from talking about his experience as a Waymo rider Continue reading Good Guy Waymo<\/h2>
First Impression<\/h2>
More to Come<\/h2>
A Waymo Rider Talked Publicly About the Service — Even Though He Wasn’t Supposed To<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"