My First Waymo Ride

I have been curious about Waymo for a while, so I finally booked one quick ride in Tempe to see what it was really like. We own a Cybertruck, so I am already used to driver-assist handling part of the work on the road. That was not what felt unusual. The unusual part was climbing into the back seat, looking at the empty driver's seat, and realizing there was nobody up front at all.

This is not a verdict on every Waymo ride or every Phoenix-area drop-off. It is simply what happened on my first one: the good parts, the awkward final stretch, and the price I saw when I compared it with Uber.

Waymo's public ride-hailing service, Waymo One, operates in Metro Phoenix, including Tempe. You download the app, choose your destination, wait for the vehicle to arrive, unlock it with the app, buckle up, and press Start Ride. Waymo says up to four passengers can ride at once, and the passenger screen shows the route and what the vehicle is seeing as it drives.[1]

The Pickup Was the Easy Part

Booking felt familiar if you have ever used a ride-hailing app. I picked the destination, the car came to the pickup spot, and the app made it clear which vehicle was mine. Once I got in, the cabin was clean, quiet, and more normal-looking than I expected. Then I looked ahead, saw the steering wheel with no person in the seat, and the whole thing got real pretty quick.

The Weird Part Was Not the Driving

The ride itself was smooth. The car handled the regular Tempe traffic, signals, turns, and lane changes while I sat in the back trying not to keep looking toward the driver's seat. If you are already comfortable with modern driver-assist systems, the vehicle moving on its own is probably not going to throw you too badly. It is the lack of a human in front that messes with your brain at first.

After a few minutes, it started feeling less like some wild science-fiction experiment and more like a ride in a very quiet car. That said, I still caught myself watching every move it made. You can follow the route and see the vehicle's view on the passenger screen, which helped turn curiosity into something a little more understandable instead of just sitting there wondering what the car was thinking.[1]

There were a couple of regular-person benefits I had not thought much about beforehand. No forced small talk if you do not feel like making conversation, and no driver sitting there while you take a call. It is a small thing, but the quiet back seat felt more private than a typical ride-share.

The Ride Was Smooth. The Drop-Off Was Not.

The middle of the ride toward Tempe Marketplace was clean. I felt safe, and there were no moments that made me grab the seat or wonder what the vehicle was doing. The arrival was where this one ride got a little clunky.

In the parking-lot maze, the Waymo went past the restaurant I was trying to reach and kept working through the loops. It finally dropped me about a quarter mile away — roughly 300 yards — and the final stretch felt jerky compared with the rest of the ride. There may have been perfectly reasonable reasons for it: road rules, red curbs, traffic, construction, or private-property access. From the passenger seat, though, the practical result was simple: I had to walk farther than I expected.

The Fare Was Part of the Story Too

On this specific trip, the Uber quote was $19 and the Waymo fare was $28. That is a $9 difference, and on a short ride where the choice is $19 or $28, that is a meaningful jump. One pair of app quotes is not a rule for Tempe or the whole Valley, but it is worth checking both apps before you book — especially when the Waymo ride may take a little longer to arrive.

Would I Ride Again?

Yes. I would take another Waymo in Tempe. The empty-cabin novelty wore off faster than I expected, and the ride felt safe throughout — even during the awkward final yards. For this one trip, Waymo won on quiet, privacy, and the simple fact that it worked. Uber won on price, and Waymo earns the honest ding for the drop-off.

If you are already in Tempe, it is worth experiencing for yourself. The first few seconds might feel a little strange, but then you realize you are just riding through town in a clean, quiet car that happens to have nobody driving it. Keep an eye on the pickup and drop-off points, compare the price with Uber, and take this as one guy's honest first ride — not a sweeping grade for the whole service.

Official resource: Check current Metro Phoenix service details with Waymo.