San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has been the lone empty dot in Waymo’s expanded coverage area that spans the San Francisco peninsula from the city through Mountain View and Palo Alto, all the way to San Jose.
I’ve been waiting for years to hop a robotaxi to SFO, and after much back-and-forth with airport authorities, the service finally started rolling out gradually on Thursday. I took it for a spin.
For now, it’s not something I can recommend as a quick or affordable way to make your flight. For my ride to the airport on Thursday, Waymo cost $46.47, Lyft cost $33.96, and Uber was $37.93. For the return trip, Waymo cost $59.48, Lyft $36.95, and Uber was $46.93. As with all ride-hail services, pricing varies (and you don’t have to tip a Waymo), but in my experience, Waymo costs 40-80% more than its competitors, regardless of the destination.
All Aboard the AirTrain
The key issue is that the service stops at an area far from the terminals, at the car rental center. Even getting there takes extra time. The freeway drops Uber, Lyft, and taxis straight at the terminals. Waymos exit the freeway earlier and have to navigate surface streets and signaled intersections to get to the rental car center. From there, you take the airport’s free AirTrain to or from the terminal. It runs every four minutes at its peak, adding 15 to 20 minutes to the ride depending on which terminal you are using.
(Credit: SFO/Rakesh Agrawal)
In normal traffic, it takes about 20-25 minutes to get from downtown San Francisco to SFO. Using Waymo essentially doubles that time. My Waymo trip took 51 minutes. A route to the terminal on Google Maps at the time was estimated at 21 minutes. Because Waymos are set to obey the speed limit, you can’t tell one to “step on it,” like you could an Uber or Lyft driver. (I tried, it didn’t work.)
For departing passengers, Waymo is at a significant disadvantage to Uber, Lyft, and taxis. The others can take you right to the curb in front of the terminal. Pro players can go straight to the drop-off point for the doors with the security checkpoint or the elite desk. Bonus: I’ve found that most human drivers will help you with your luggage.
For arriving passengers, there is still a disadvantage, though a little less. Instead of picking up curbside, you have to cross the roadway over a sky bridge to the top of the parking garage. For the international terminals, you can just cross the road.
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(Credit: Rakesh Agrawal)
With Waymo, you still have to take the AirTrain all the way back to the car rental center. The signage is poor. It’s easy to figure out where to pick up an Uber or Lyft, but good luck finding the Waymo location. (The app isn’t very helpful either.) It’s only after you get to the car rental center that there is anything that refers to Waymo.
My test was with my standard carry-on. For a family with luggage and strollers or skiers dragging gear, taking a Waymo would be an even worse decision. The only scenario where I can imagine using it is if I had to take a confidential phone call during my ride to the airport. The private phone booth would take longer and cost more, but I wouldn’t have an Uber driver eavesdropping. I’d just need to finish my call before getting on the AirTrain.
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(Credit: Rakesh Agrawal)
Waymo is still working with the airport to try to improve its placement. Waymo says it “plans to serve additional airport locations like the terminals in the future.” That’s happened in the past. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Waymo moved from the Sky Train stations near the terminals in late 2022 and to the terminals in 2024, according to a Waymo spokesman. (It’s also available at the San José Mineta International Airport.)
I imagine that, for pick-ups, Waymo will be able to get the same treatment as Uber and Lyft. That area is well organized, with marked parking spaces. However, I don’t foresee curbside drop-offs at SFO any time soon. The curb at an airport is the definition of entropy. People pop out of nowhere. Cars are double- and triple-parked. Traffic police guide vehicles. People are sleepy and just off flights. They’re lost and turned around. International travelers can’t read the signs. Luggage falls off carts. There are tall buses and hotel shuttles. Airports reward social negotiation and informal rule-breaking.
Autonomous vehicles have improved since the days when they were programmed to drive like grandmas, but they have a long way to go before they can handle the chaos at a large airport like SFO. Or they have to become so in-demand that the airport reconfigures roadways to better accommodate them.
Although my experience wasn’t great, at least I didn’t get driven around in circles.
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About Our Expert
Rakesh Agrawal
Contributor
Experience
Rakesh is a San Francisco-based entrepreneur and analyst exploring how technology reshapes society. He focuses on the human side of technology, especially AI and autonomous vehicles. Once, he nearly interviewed Richard Branson in a Vegas wedding chapel before being redirected to Branson’s penthouse suite. Read more on his blog.
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