“Jennifer Jeffries, 54, has logged nearly 3,000 minutes in Waymos since May 2024. Until recently, the Pacific Heights resident wouldn’t take one if she was headed downtown. They weren’t agile enough. She once got stuck for several minutes behind another car that was double parked while furniture was being unloaded.

She now has no problem taking Waymos downtown and finds they maneuver as well as an Uber driver, maybe better…

Waymo has been trying to make its cars ‘confidently assertive,’ says Chris Ludwick, a senior director of product management with Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet. ‘That was really necessary for us to actually scale this up in San Francisco, especially because of how busy it gets.’

Ludwick says when the vehicles are too passive, they become disruptive. Regular software updates ensure Waymos aren’t becoming a nuisance or creating chaos.”

From Wall Street Journal.