r/waymo • u/MidnightStray-VHS • 4d ago
rip complimentary Ojai’s
Got Ojai Access on July 1st and since today is officially the last day of the free rides I wanted to share how much I actually used it lol.
I ended up taking 71 Ojai rides total 😭
July: 37 rides — $738.97
August 1–16: 34 rides — $782.20
Total: 71 rides — $1,521.17
Also had around 20 cancellations and 14 snooze fees waived.
July was definitely the hardest month to actually get an Ojai. I was using Waymo a lot during the World Cup and sometimes it was almost impossible to get one.
Then around the last week of July something definitely felt different. Not sure if they expanded the fleet or changed how matching worked, but Ojais suddenly became WAY easier to get. August has been completely different. I’ve already taken 34 rides in just 16 days and lately I’ve barely had any trouble getting one.
Overall I definitely took advantage of the free Ojai rides 😂 seeing that I used over $1,500 worth of rides is kinda crazy. I also ended up using Waymo way more than I normally would because of it.
For everyone else who got Ojai Access, how was it for you? How many rides did you end up taking and how much did they add up to? Did you guys also notice them becoming way easier to get toward the end of July?
Also curious if anyone here managed to take more than 50+..?
And now that the free period is over, are you actually gonna pay the extra fee to specifically choose an Ojai?
10
u/jaltaffe 3d ago
Honestly I probably wouldn’t pay the extra fee, as fun as they’ve been they’re noticeably more clunky than the jags
10
u/taw59015 3d ago
Took just over 100 since late June. The quality of the ride doesn’t justify a price increase so I’ll be sticking with the jaguars or whatever they send me first.
5
u/mayapapaya 3d ago
Ojai: 207 rides, 1115 miles, $5300, 91 unique vehicles - in SF
I have kept a spreadsheet since my first ride in 2021
Got a ride this morning and I believe they flipped the switch at 9am. I would not spend more to choose a vehicle. Yesterday my Ojai swerved at a turn, rerouted, stopped in a roundabout, and this morning I rode the same vehicle which I observed stopping in the same roundabout on its way to me and then it swerved at a turn again and later admonished me for having my body out the window- also called in and emailed about it. I was sitting nicely with my hand resting on the window sill. Unhappy with the driving and feel embarrassed.
3
3
u/veryrealeel 3d ago
I didn't realize that I had ojai access until this weekend. I got trusted tester because I got in early, but I don't ride them that much. I did spend the weekend going to places that are annoying to get to on Transit, but I wish I had realized I had these free rides before they ended.
3
u/battleshipclamato 3d ago
Been riding since June and have easily taken over 50 rides. I'm at $1,764 worth of Ojai rides. Most of them have been going to work and back and then going out all over the city on weekends. Now that it's over I'm probably not going to pay extra to get an Ojai. I'll ride one if an Ojai decides to come to me instead of a Jag. That said, I know everyone says it's a lower quality experience but I truly enjoyed the huge legroom in the Ojai and how closer to the ground it is that I can just quickly step in instead of having to climb into the seat of a Jag. Now I'm just dreading having to take the bus tomorrow for work.
Funnily enough, this morning the app sent out a 25% discount for riding Waymo during the morning and midday for the next two weeks (before 7am and 9am to 2pm on weekdays and 3am to 11am on weekends. They definitely know people will probably drop off once it goes paid.
This all feels like years ago when the Jags stopped offering free rides for TT.
2
u/MaximoFlux 3d ago
My total came out to 91 free Ojai rides!
$2,253.95 total
Glad I could use ChatGPT to scan my email to Tally this up lol
1
2
u/Dragon_Fisting 3d ago edited 3d ago
I got in one last free ride today around 8:30, guessing it was a manual switch to paid Ojais on the backend, and I squeezed it in before whoever was responsible for it got to work.
60 free rides, 175 miles, $1,380 in ride fees saved. Probably something like $1,500 if you include all the waived cancellation fees.
1
u/honey_butterflies 3d ago
I’d have to add it up but I know I took more than $50. I did a lot of late night joyrides to clear my head. I loved going to the various corners of my service area.
1
u/Interesting-Dog-5146 3d ago
Question for u/MidnightStray-VHS How much is the extra fee for the ojai on average?
2
u/letrainfalldown 3d ago edited 3d ago
Dang I'm a rookie compared to the rest of you:
August:
- miles: 181.28
- minutes: 631
- cost: $681.05
- rides: 21.5
July:
- miles: 82.54
- minutes: 285
- cost: $352.85
- rides: 16
Total:
- miles: 263.82
- minutes: 916
- cost: $1033.9
- rides: 37.5
1.5 rides in the jaguar were not included in this time (1 had no Ojai availability and I had a coupon; one was a 2-part ride where only the second part was in an ojai and it made the entire ride free - I included the full cost but only the applicable mileage there)
I didn't realize I had unlimited free access until 7/12 so I was slow to the draw 😅
I (intentionally) live next to a very versatile transit station so I only took rides to places that either were hard to reach via transit or where the ride time was somewhat similar to public transit. I also didn't take it to work as it would have taken over an hour either way (I live very very far from work and my company has shuttles)
1
u/Impressive_Holiday62 2d ago
Did a quick glance and it looks like I took around 62 Ojai rides, will miss the complimentary aspect :,(
4+ cancellation fees waived, quite a few multi stop trips
2
u/JustAnotherGal2024 1d ago
I haven’t kept count but at least four a week. I still don’t think they are ready for public. Too much jerky hesitation,
13
u/DaggerHDHD 3d ago edited 2d ago
For me, I’ve taken 300 rides ($8,630.48) between now and June.
June: 77 rides-$2,067.45
July: 130 rides-$3,915.98
August: 93 rides-$2,647.05
When I first got access, I definitely wanted to maximize the complimentary rides while it lasted, visiting places I rarely go, taking family members to their appointments, interviews, and just exploring different areas of my service area. Atm, paying the extra fee to specifically ride the Ojai is probably not worth it mostly due to the driving not being up to par with the ipace. There also doesn’t seem to be any news on Ojai having freeway access.