Waymo gives the blind a new independence

[Pisces]

This article highlights a group of people finding new independence with the Waymo cars. I would be one tomorrow for my elderly mother who can no longer drive if they were available everywhere. This is the biggest complaint she has is her loss of independence. I wish I could give it back to her. I also wish they were in every city for my 20 something daughters to use. I hate worrying that some driver could try and take advantage of them if they are alone. A 24/7 driverless service would benefit all women. I understand that there are some technical problems, but I would take them 100 times over for my mother and daughters.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/24/us/waymo-robot-taxis-blind.html?smid=url-share

[MineralMan]

1. Waymo depends on its riders to be able to see and get into the vehicle

on their own. There's nobody there to help them do so. I doubt that Waymo will be viable transport for the blind. Uber and Lyft are better suited, since there is an actual driver who can see the person who will be riding.

As for safety, assaults by drivers are very, very rare. But, if you can't see the car that will carry you, and there is no driver, how would you use the service at all?

[MO_Dem]

2. Lots of us

older folks who are otherwise very healthy and active, have low vision and cannot pass the vision test to renew driver's license. I am 76. I am able to live alone in my home, do my housework and cooking. I have to have my groceries and prescriptions delivered. In this small town, the only public transportation is by appointment a day or two in advance. That works okay for medical appointments. But man, if I could buy a car that I could get into and go anywhere I took a notion--to the park, to the cemetery to visit my husband's grave, or visit friends and leave whenever I pleased, or just go to a store or garden center and walk around for the fun of it, I would be thrilled. Imagine what it would be like if you could never drive again, but you could still do almost anything that wanted to.

[Pisces]

4. This is how my mother feels. I wish I could buy her a Waymo for this feeling of independence that she has

lost.

[MineralMan]

8. Im familiar wiyh low vision.

My wife has macula degeneration.
The word that was used was blind. She's not blind. She can se well enough to get on a car. People with no vision will not be able to access a driverless car. My point.

Further Waymo is not foolproof by any means. It had to stop using freeways in at least one state.

We need multiple transportation options. Waymo is just one. And it has limits.

[MO_Dem]

9. I have macular degeneration

Many of us who have it are legally blind.

[Pisces]

3. The blind are using it now. Did you read the article? I also think this is a lifeline for the elderly

[Pisces]

5. First part of the article below

Ruben Brunt hopped off a ferry, tapped his white cane against the sidewalk and held his phone to his ear to listen for directions. His destination was a white Jaguar idling a few blocks away — with no one behind the wheel.

Mr. Brunt, 28, was born with a rare eye disorder. He can’t drive himself, and had never experienced the feeling of being alone in a car — until Waymo’s self-driving vehicles started navigating San Francisco’s hilly streets two years ago.

Now Mr. Brunt will occasionally make the hourlong journey across the bay from his home in Solano County, Calif., just to ride in one. “It’s that feeling of independence and actually having the control,” he said. “Being able to play whatever music you want, feeling like you’re in your own car.”

[BannonsLiver]

6. Apparently enough blind people are using it for the NYT to write a story about it.

🙄

[EdmondDantes_]

10. Blind people aren't incapable of doing things on their own

A few simple things could be done via a smartphone app that buzzes when you get to the right car. Blind people can do stairs and doors and such.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. did a waymo write this