Year: 2025
Is Waymo the Way to Go?
By Eve Regina Rose
June 9, 2025
What shocked me most about my maiden voyage in a driverless car took place long
after the ride. Not during it.
I don’t mean that nothing about my eight Waymo trips around San Francisco took me off
guard. The steering wheel moved back and forth, which looks creepy when there isn’t a
pair of hands to control it. Ghostlike is not a good look.
Nor do I mean to imply that I never got nervous. When our Waymo pulled around a car
that was double parked and squeezed past an oncoming BMW, we screamed quite
loudly. But Waymo handled it with Finesse. Even if we didn’t.
Other than that, it was pure pleasure. No tips, no talking. I hate chit chat and often
forget to tip with Uber and Lyft. The electric car was quiet, clean and I could even curate
the music on a screen (‘60s Classics as we cruised through Haight Ashbury…Mellow
jazz after a late night).
The car arrived exceedingly fast. It picks you up from where you call it unless it’s too
dangerous. When we ordered a Waymo in the middle of a crowd that had spilled onto
the street, Waymo steered clear, parking across from us where it was safer.
It had a fun factor I didn’t expect. It was like going on a ride at Disney World. Or starring
in my own Sci-Fi movie. I couldn’t wait to order the next one.
The real shocker came later when I learned just how many people didn’t share my
enthusiasm:
“I would never go in one of those.”
“Not enough testing for me.”
“Really? You’re crazy.”
Believe me, I am no daredevil. Some might even call me a control freak. But I was
never really scared, especially after the first ride. If anything, the car relaxed me. Better
to rely on a machine than a tired or distracted human (I’ve never been fond of the
ridesharing companies’ untrained amateurs).
Will this fear I encountered from dozens of people be a roadblock for Waymo in the
future?
My hunch is that like any new technology (early car makers were called imbeciles after
all), people will get more comfortable with time and exposure. Waymo just completed its
10 millionth paid ride so clearly some people are already there.
However, the safer these city trials go, the better. People – at least the ones I know –
will still need some persuading.
About the Author: A graduate of the Northwestern University’s Medill School of
Journalism, and the Vermont College of Fine Arts, Eve Regina Rose, a guest
contributor, is an award-winning business journalist. She’s covered everything from the
technology sector to International trade.
Tim Cook to Donald Trump: You Were Serious About That?
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s response to President Donald Trump’s made-in-America push calls to mind a scene in the movie My Cousin Vinny. Vincent Gambini (played by Joe Pesci), a novice defense attorney, is scolded by Judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne) for showing up in his Alabama courtroom without a suit and tie, with the judge taking particular offense to Gambini’s long leather jacket. When Gambini returns to the courtroom for his next appearance he is dressed the same way, but this time the judge holds him in contempt of court. Gambini, in disbelief, says to the judge: “You were serious about that?”
EV Charging May Be Coming to a Gas Station Near You
Of the many concerns that keep car buyers from taking the plunge into EV ownership, access to fast, on-the-road charging remains at the top of the list. While Tesla has largely solved this problem through its fast charger network, the other 50 percent of EV owners in the U.S. must resort to a hodgepodge of charging pumps, many of which are unreliable, inconveniently located, and take too long to charge.
To be sure, the problem is at least partially solved for some EV owners, who can charge their car overnight in their own garage. Yet the problem remains for EV owners that live in townhomes, condominiums, and apartments, without a dedicated garage.
Nouria, a chain of combination gas stations and convenience stores, which operates in more than 180 locations throughout the Northeast, has taken steps to solve the problem. In addition to the typical array of beef jerky sticks available at most gas stations, Nouria goes several steps further, providing an eclectic mix of merchandise, including stuffed animals, Ashton Churchill cigars, healthy snacks, and of course, potato chips and candy bars. As an added convenience, a Dunkin’ Donuts concession provides chocolate glazed, jelly, and butternut donuts, along with blueberry munchkins.
Its filling station in Framingham Massachusetts, located twenty miles from Boston as the crow flies, provides five stalls with two pumps on each side, where up to ten drivers can fill their gas tanks at once. In an accessible area adjacent to the filling pumps reside two ChargePoint Level 3 EV chargers, ready to provide a relatively quick electron boost. Over time, as I’ve routinely stopped for a Dunkin’ butternut donut, I’ve seen Rivian R1Ts, Volkswagen ID.4s, a few Hyundai Ioniq 5s, a couple of Honda Prologues, and several Ford Mustang Mach-Es take their turns in the charging bays.
Recently, I chatted with a couple who were on their way back to their home in Western Massachusetts. They were happy to have found the Nouria station on their Rivian app, which enabled them to charge their R1T pickup truck in something like 20 minutes, though I don’t recall how much range they had left on their battery before stopping at the station. And they didn’t have to drive far out of their way to find it, as the Framingham location is close to the Massachusetts Turnpike entrance. For what it’s worth, they were so enthusiastic about their Rivian that they volunteered to show me the ample trunk space under the front hood, where the engine normally sits in a gas powered pickup truck.
Gas nozzles outweigh EV chargers by a ratio of 5:1 at this particular filling station, yet while on a recent stop, I saw just two cars filling up for gas, while both chargers were occupied. As I washed down my Dunkin munchkin with a swig of coffee, I thought: could this be a glimpse into the future?
Less than two percent of all cars in Massachusetts are EVs, but EVs now account for 12 percent of all new cars purchased in the state, according to the Alliance for Automotive Information. Nouria has placed a bet that the numbers will rise, and perhaps over time more EV chargers will be added to more of its locations. In the meantime it will be interesting to see if others in the convenience store and gas station business begin to add EV chargers. The pace of EV adoption and demand for charging services will no doubt dictate the decision.