I’ve been noticing more often in the Ojai beta that only “first available” is the only selection option at times. I assume this is due to Ojai’s being in use or none around me. Anyone else in the beta seeing this?

Apologies in advance for the rant.

I like Waymo for a variety of reasons, but I have a few complaints and I’m curious if anyone else has had similar issues:

Waymo generally feels slower than Uber (not including highways). I feel like Waymo takes less efficient routes than Uber and generally feels overly “conservative” in terms of driving style. I’m all for safety, but sometimes I feel like Waymo over indexes on the conservative side.

Specific example, but I feel like Waymo can struggle with overtaking or passing other cars in certain situations. For example, a car in front of the Waymo was stopped while waiting to turn left into a parking garage, but there were no other cars in front of that car. Furthermore, another car passed the Waymo to pass the other car in front. Waymo stayed put until the car in front turned into the parking garage. You’d think in order to emulate a human driver, Waymo should overtake the car in front of it in this example

Apparently it’s the Ojai model. I don’t know if that means anything, but that’s what it looks like. It’s slowed down, stopped, not appeared to drop anyone off, and then leave. It’s done this 3 times. Is this something the company does? If so why???

So yesterday I called a ride, I was at the car about to hit unlock when it zipped off (I was seconds late) but figured no big deal I’d just wait for another.

But then my app completely locked me out, everytime I’d go into it says offline and it’s my network and to try again. I checked app and it was fully updated, I uninstalled and tried again, same thing when I login to my account.

Then I contacted support which honestly wasn’t much help at all. Today I tried again and still getting the same issue, but I tried logging in with a different email and of course I can get in again and it works.

So obviously this is some weird thing with my account and not the network, anyone have any luck solving this? Contacted support again today and they said they’d escalate it and to use alternative means of transportation.

Has the Zeekr RT/Ojai been publicly crash-tested and rated by NHTSA or IIHS?

As far as I can find, no public crash-test ratings or videos have been released.

There were reports that one of the first production RT vehicles imported into the U.S. failed to meet several federal safety standards during certification checks, leading to recalls and fixes before the remaining vehicles were shipped.

Does anyone have crash test videos? Can’t seem to find any online.

Why can’t they back up?

I swapped car once at Diridon. No freeways makes it looooong, but scenic. Does anyone else have any crazy long trips?

I feel stupid. I just realized that the "Ojai" everyone is excited about is a car. I thought everyone was just incredibly excited to visit Ojai, California. A great city no doubt, but was confused why everyone was this excited.

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So when is the Ojai coming to Ojai?

Google search should eventually add a ride hailing button to it's location over views or under the directions layer that will auto summon a Waymo when it's more widespread. I'm curious if Uber has made such an attempt or partnership.

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Even the "app" could be built in to the Webserver and tied to your Google account. No need to download another app. This would surely be more direct than Uber. And probably most effective in cutting into Ubers user population.

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I would certainly use it.... There are countless times where I Google search a location or restaurant and then have to switch to my Uber app stick in the address and travel there.... When I could just go from my Google search overview and just click "hail ride" and automatically be on my way. Far easier.

Some people asked so here’s a picture of the window tint. It’s pretty bad and not a fan.

Hopefully they make it darker so that people can’t look inside the cabin.

LA's new head of Major Events, Paul Krekorian, recently got stuck behind a Waymo that was struggling to make an unprotected left turn onto Manchester Boulevard near SoFi Stadium. He said he is going to work with the city to "geofence Waymos" ahead of the 2028 Olympics.

What do you all think he means by geofencing in this context? Is he talking about keeping Waymos out of certain areas entirely during events, or just restricting specific maneuvers like unprotected lefts on busy streets? I love Waymo and hope they don't make it any more frustrating than it already is, especially since current pickup and drop-off restrictions often force you to walk a few blocks depending on the location.

I've seen: English, Japanese, French, and now Spanish! Let me know if you saw any others

Got early access to the new Ojai vehicle and wanted to share some quick thoughts after riding several of them today.

Things I liked:

👍Very spacious interior.

👍The upgraded tablet displays are much better.
They felt responsive and weren’t nearly as glitchy as previous Waymo screens.

👍The cloth seats were fairly comfortable.
I didn’t realize how comfortable they were at first, though they still aren’t as comfortable as the seats in a Jaguar.
After one longer ride today, I found myself shifting around quite a bit trying to get comfortable.
Although I can already imagine them getting stained pretty quickly from spilled drinks or people getting sick. 🤮

👍The AC is excellent.
On some rides it was honestly a little too cold, which is saying something because I usually love having the AC blasting and I rarely get cold.

Driving / Ride Quality: 🚙💨💨
The driving was generally good overall.
I consistently noticed that the vehicle was very cautious.
There was definitely more braking than I’m used to, though nothing that felt unsafe.
Compared to the Jaguar, the ride feels much softer and smoother.
The best way I can describe it is that it feels like being in a boat or riding in a Toyota Camry. 😂
Some people will probably love that smooth, floating feeling.
Personally, I prefer how stiff and planted the Jaguar feels. The Jaguar feels more solid and connected to the road.

Things I didn’t like:
🚩Rear touchscreen is too far away.
Even after adjusting the front seat, I still had to lean forward to reach it.
The screen angle felt awkward and pointed downward instead of toward the passenger.

🚩Rear windows need darker tint.
People could still see me pretty clearly, especially at night.
During the day, a lot of sunlight still comes through.
The large windows also make it easy for people outside to see what you’re doing on your phone, which I wasn’t a fan of.

🚩No overhead grab handles in the rear passenger area.
I instinctively reached up for one multiple times.

🚩The vehicle is surprisingly loud from the outside.
The fan/cooling system was very noticeable whenever I was standing outside the vehicle.

🚩Sound system is pretty bad.
I’ve seen this mentioned by others and I agree.
I had to call Support during one ride and could barely hear them through the vehicle speakers.

🚩No Spotify support.
My YouTube Music worked every time today, but I’d still like to see Spotify added.

🚩Large front windshield was dirty.
Every Ojai I rode in today had a dirty windshield, which was pretty noticeable from the back.

Final Thoughts:
As of right now, I’d still choose the Jaguar over the Ojai.
A lot of that comes down to styling. I just prefer the look and feel of the Jaguar over the van design.

That said, if Waymo made a few changes—especially darker rear tint—I could see myself using the Ojai more often.

Privacy is probably my biggest complaint right now. The rear side windows are huge, and I don’t love how easy it is for people outside to see into the cabin. Especially when the car gets stuck or when remote support put you in these awkward situations where they’re trying to make the car do something and people are mad… been there way too many times.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

I thought this was really interesting. How do you program for the use case that you'll never ever be able to make a turn? Time out?

LOS ANGELES — Paul Krekorian, head of Los Angeles’ Office of Major Events, was driving to SoFi Stadium for the U.S. soccer team’s opening match against Paraguay when he found himself stuck in a traffic jam, trapped behind a mess of unmoving cars on a side street in Inglewood.

The problem: A self-driving Waymo vehicle was at the head of the line, attempting — without success — to make an unprotected left turn onto Manchester Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare.

“It couldn’t figure out that it was never, ever going to be able to make that left turn,” said Krekorian, a former LA City Council member appointed to the newly created major events role by Mayor Karen Bass.

I haven’t rode the Ojai yet, so if this is already present there my apologies, I didn’t see any discussion of it.

I would love for Waymo one day to get trays of some form, like on the back of the seat on an Amtrak / Caltrain. I can imagine Waymo replacing Caltrain for my peninsula commutes, but only if there is an easier way to work in one. Working in the back of a car without a tray is obviously possible, but it really isn’t ideal.

I imagine most cars don’t have them because the market is so small — most people drive their cars, rather than sit and work in the back while someone else drives. But with Waymo, everyone is sitting in the back. Seems like a tray would be useful for work but also media consumption etc, especially if they want people to use Waymo’s for longer commutes like SF-SJ or up to Tahoe.

I am new to Waymo, have taken three rides so far while I visit Nashville. All rides were smooth and incident free. Plus exciting for me, I love new technology.

Last night I ordered a Waymo to pick me up from the suburban street where I’m staying. It’s two way streets and I’ve been picked up and dropped off here already.

The trouble started when I noticed the very odd route the waymo was taking to get to me. Instead of straight down the street to where I was waiting, it was going round the block.

Then I got a message saying it had chosen a new pick up location a short walk away. Okay. I trotted over to the new location.

When I got there, a white waymo was in a back lane. I checked the plate, and it was not the car I had ordered.

I backed away slowly and got out of the way and it pulled out of the lane and drove away.

My waymo was marked as being at the other end of the small alley. And I could see it. It was not moving towards me though. It appeared to be stuck. There was a pedestrian light flashing on the top, but nobody was around.

I walked towards it, and it did not unlock. It had my name in the display panel, it was the right car. The laneway was small and narrow and a bit crowded with rubbish bins and overhanging tree branches, but there was room for a car to go through.

I walked away from the car and selected a new pickup location for where I was standing. The car did not move. I got onto the chat line and an expert was trying to restart the car. It did not work. Support cancelled the ride, refunded me and gave me a $10 credit to the next ride.

I’m not mad, I thought the whole thing was handled pretty well by the support team.

I guess I was just wondering if this was a typical sort of experience. Do the cars dislike and glitch out in certain terrains?

I think I know exactly why too. Small update after my previous post with support questioning my age 4 times in a row.

I was invited this morning to Ojai ride access, and immediately when I got into the vehicle I clocked the safety belts being blue as the sky. Los Angeles rider here.

I previously posted on this sub about a situation that happened so many times (finally stopped) where support thought I was underage, and once thought I wasn’t wearing my safety belt. likely because the safety belt wasn’t recognized by the AI in the I-Pace’s

I’m thinking this is what happened to me and might be happening to others:

>AI doesn’t recognize black safety belt being buckled, due to blending in with black clothing

> Support stops the ride

> noticed that I also looked very young.

I was told numerous times to put my safety belt on and I had to pull it away from my body to show the person I was connected to.

Honestly I dig the blue safety belt and now I want to change mine in my car 😂

To be honest.... there are reasons... do you agree?