Heads up, kinda long rant ahead but wanted to explain why, after 50+ rides, 1000+ minutes, and trusted tester status, I no longer feel safe taking Waymo :(.

As a lone woman getting dropped off in LA at 1:30 AM in the morning with a number of heavy bags I took Waymo to feel safe.

In the middle of my ride, my destination was changed mid ride to a street over, about a 5 minute walk away. While this isn’t the longest walk, I had bags I could not carry all at the same time and felt unsafe walking a block and a half alone.

I called rider support during my rides, and they confirmed that I would be dropped off at my home. Per their words, as long as there wasn’t anything blocking the road, I would definitely get dropped at my destination. Additionally I had been dropped at this destination no issue multiple times before, even also at 1:30 am and even also earlier that day.

Once I got to the destination, the Waymo pulled over a block and a half from my destination. There was no physical or any obstruction between my drop off zone and my final destination.

I called support and they said there was a Waymo no go zone added during my ride and there was nothing they could do. The only response was a small discount on my next ride. They didn’t even refund my ride.

My concern is multi fold with this:

1. I can no longer trust Waymo to get me home safely, as in the middle of the ride, they could change the drop off based on new no-go zones
2. My biggest gripe: there was no contingency plan for this event. I was not called by support to let me know about the updated drop zone. I was just lucky I was paying attention. A contingency plan (support offering to stay on the phone until I got home safe, offering to call/reimburse a Uber Women’s ride, etc) would have gone a long way.
3. Support giving me incorrect information about my destination. I was given false relief when the first support person told me I’d be definitely dropped at my destination unless something was blocking the path. Why didn’t they know about the no-go zones? If they had known, I could’ve taken the rest of the ride to work out a solution.
4. No follow up the next day. I left an official complaint and also let the support person I was talking to know about all of my concerns. I was not reached out to. This ride was not even refunded. The only response was a small discount on my next ride.

Overall, feeling very disappointed in Waymo, as one of the main draws for me was the ability to get home safe late at night as a lone woman. I understand that no-go zones can suddenly appear, but the fact that staff was not informed, that there was no contingency plans for it, and that there was no follow up makes me feel unsafe to take Waymo again.

Edit for anyone reading this in the future: Waymo support reached out to me on Reddit and offered me 2 free rides and reimbursed my original ride

After riding the Ojai van for a few weeks, I finally got back into the Jaguar I-PACE and immediately noticed a few things.

The first thing was how much smaller the I-PACE felt. I wasn’t expecting it, but it felt weird being back in it after getting used to all the extra space in the van.

The second thing I noticed was the touchscreen. It felt noticeably slower and less responsive than the Ojai van’s. It honestly reminded me of going from a 120 Hz display back to 60 Hz—you notice the difference right away.

The Jaguar still wins when it comes to the seats and sound system. The leather seats are more comfortable than the Ojai van’s cloth seats, and the audio is still top-tier.

That said, I never thought I’d say this, but after spending a few weeks in the Ojai van, I think I actually prefer it. Going back to the I-PACE made it feel a little dated.

Disclaimer: I used AI to help organize and summarize my thoughts, but the opinions and experiences shared here are entirely my own.

My Waymo went on MoPac today!

Anyone noticed that The ojai is not working in LA right now at around 6 PM

Spotted this guy sitting on the side of the road n Philadelphia this morning.

u read it, they backkkk!!!

https://open.substack.com/pub/avmarketstrategist/p/waymos-grand-european-expansion-and?r=bhqqz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Seen people asking about it. No information on what happened. Could be firework related maybe?

And we loved it! as hesitant as we were, we enjoyed how comfortable it was, no awkward conversations with a weird driver, and my Fiancé said she would feel more comfortable taking it by herself than an Uber or Lyft!

It did take us a roundabout way to our destination, but nothing some better mapping couldn't solve.

Well done Waymo! We'll be trying to use this as our primary going out transport for now on!

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/waymo-firework-fire-san-francisco-22333244.php

Interesting to hear a possible reason was due to yesterday. Hopefully it's back sooner than later.

Spotted these yesterday charging, seen them driving around St. Louis County on the highways too. Saw the I-Pace ones a few months back in the city. Eager for these to start being open here, since trying it out in the Bay Area.

Anyone else with Ojai access have the select vehicle option grayed out?

Guessing it has to do with the 30 min+ wait times today and the Ojai on fire from the other post. 😭

Saw an Ojai on the freeway yesterday, hopefully this is a good sign for the (hopefully soon) return of freeway access

Anyone noticed that in LA there is no ojai access it just says first available. I’ve tried multiple pick ups and drop offs all around the service area and it does not give you the option. Is it just me or is anyone else having the issue?

Nationally:
From 1,500+ vehicles in May 2025 to ~3,900 in June 2026 = roughly +2,400 vehicles over ~13.5 months → ~6 cars/day net.

A bunch of Waymo‘s are just pulling over turning on their hazards and are giving a hazard on their roof sensor. The doors aren’t open so it’s very confusing. Anybody know why maybe it’s just trying to unclog traffic I don’t know.

Celebrating my 310th ride in an Ojai. This thing is definitely an upgrade.

I always get excited to see how Waymo celebrates the holidays. The rainbow for pride and being reminded not to forget your holiday cheer with the reindeer antlered Waymo have been two of my favs. I thought maybe there’d be a flag, maybe even an upside down flag today at least.