Waymo Partners With Lyft to Give Uber the Middle Finger
Waymo, the autonomous automotive firm owned by Google parent Alphabet, and Uber’s chief ride-hailing rival Lyft have entered into a self-driving partnership — seemingly to do little more than stick it to Big U.
Lyft is already in a partnership with General Motors to produce computer-controlled Chevrolet test vehicles in 2018, while Waymo has a deal with Fiat Chrysler to use the Pacifica as its primary R&D platform. It’s difficult to parse out what the two can offer each other beyond a mutual hatred for Uber. Business partnerships can rarely be distilled down to a disdain of a third party but, in this instance, that certainly makes the most sense.
Despite being involved in litigations with Waymo that could result in a total shutdown of its autonomous development efforts, Uber has the largest ride-sharing fleet of any company and is positioned near the front of the self-driving race. Meanwhile, Lyft has only just entered the self-driving arena.
Neither company has said much about the partnership, however.
“Waymo holds today’s best self-driving technology, and collaborating with them will accelerate our shared vision of improving lives with the world’s best transportation,” Lyft wrote in an emailed statement shared by Reuters.
That doesn’t exactly translate into “Uber can go suck an egg,” but it’s also open to interpretation. Waymo doesn’t need to say much of anything for us to know where it stands. It’s already in an ugly court battle after having accused Uber of stealing its intellectual property, so partnering with its main rival only serves to highlight how prepared it is to change its allegiances.
Waymo said the Lyft partnership would let its technology reach “more people, in more places.” Perhaps, but Lyft would only be truly useful if Alphabet used its extremely deep pockets to make the brand its own.
The company stated its wish to establish its own ride-sharing service in the past and, with Uber out, this could be the way to get there. Likewise, having access to an existing company that operates in 300 North American cities every day would be an excellent way to acquire practical testing data without going back to FCA and hiring extra drivers.
[Image: Waymo]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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"Waymo Partners with Lyft to Give Uber the Middle Finger" SCE smiles broadly like the Grinch, laughing like Jabba the Hutt.
Can we please stop with the 100% bs "rideshare" label these companies invented? It's Orwellian. An attempt to influence the conversation by deliberately distorting the language. These are not "ride sharing" companies. They are unlicensed taxi cab services, and it's disingenuous to go along with their alternate language and the alternate facts it tries to fabricate.