Waymo is offering blind and visually impaired more options for transportation around Bay Area
For the blind and visually impaired community, getting around by vehicle can be a challenge. Public transportation can help, but more and more people are choosing Waymo and other autonomous vehicles.
Blind rider James Gump says it feels more accessible, safer, and it gives him more control.
"There's a honk horn feature, so I can confirm which car is mine as a I walk up," said Gump about why he feels Waymo is easier to locate than a traditional ride-sharing service like Lyft or Uber.
Gump has been considered blind his whole life, his ability to see is impacted by light. While he has some usable vision, he uses a cane to help navigate the world and he can't drive.
"Growing up in the peninsula and being in a culture where everybody drives, I struggled getting around and doing the same things that my friends did," said Gump.
For most of his life, he's used public transportation like BART and Muni, but that has its own obstacles.
"If I were to go and do a couple errands it would take multiple hours and bus transfers and a lot more time," said Gump.
Waymo has allowed Gump, and other people with vision loss, to get around without being reliant on anyone else. Before driverless vehicles, Gump would use ridesharing services, like Lyft and Uber.
The blind community has expressed concerns about multiple issues with those companies. Gump and other blind riders have experienced ride denial because of his service dog. Both Uber and Lyft have policies that prohibit drivers from canceling rides because a rider has a disability or travels with a guide dog, but Gump claims some drivers would say they have allergies or were concerned about the dog dirtying the car.
Other times Gump has felt uncomfortable or unsafe or a rideshare, but with Waymo, he doesn't have these concerns.
"I don't have to worry about the awkwardness of explaining my blindness to the driver and having them under help or overhelp," said Gump. "I've had situations where the driver will follow me to my door after I asked them not to and that's a little disconcerting and something you wouldn't do for your normal customer."
Rachel Kamen with Waymo says they want to make transportation anyone and everyone can use.
"At the core of our mission is making transportation safe and accessible to be able to independently hail a ride and get safely where you need to go," said Kamen.
Waymo has worked with visually impaired non-profits, like LightHouse in San Francisco, to ensure they offer features like screen readers and audio directions.
They hope to offer more in the future.
"We're always growing, we're always evolving and we're never done," said Kamen about Waymo's future plans. "We're always working with the community. We're always learning more and always evolving so there will be additional features added down the road."
For many people, not having a human driver can be scary, while Gump understands people's concerns and fears, he doesn't share them.
"I think it has a lot to do with the ability to give up control over the driving situation and in the blind world we've had to give up that control a long time ago and rely on a lot of other drivers so it's kind of a natural transition to not having a driver for us," said Gump.
Without a driver, Gump is in control. He's able to get to his destination by car without relying on another person for the first time in his life.
"A lot more freedoms through the travel Waymo allows us," said Gump.
Currently, Waymo has a limited service area. It's about 55 miles from Fisherman's Wharf down to Daly City, but people in the blind community, like Gump, are hopeful it will expand.
