For the next month, Bay Area riders of Waymo robotaxis can earn a $3 credit whenever they travel to and from certain public transit stations.
Riders will be able to take advantage of the offer through November 15, and they can use the credits earned towards future robotaxi rides from now until December 31, the company said.
The pilot program is the first of its kind among autonomous vehicle operators in the U.S. It comes after Waymo found in a recent survey that 36% of San Francisco riders have used Waymo’s robotaxi service, Waymo One, to connect to other forms of transit like the BART, Muni, or Caltrain.
Only a handful of stations are valid for the deal, though, mostly in south and southwest SF:
- BART: Colma, Daly City
- BART/Muni: Balboa Park, Glen Park
- Muni: West Portal, Revere / Shafter (T Third Street line)
- Caltrain: 4th & King Street, 22nd Street
The credits will automatically be added to a rider’s account if they go to or from one of those stations – riders don’t need to prove they actually rode public transit. But for those who are considering racking up points by riding to the stations even when they’re not taking public transportation, the promotion is limited to one $3 credit per day.
Riders often use multiple modes of transportation to get from A to B, so programs like this that connect to public transportation should be more common. But unfortunately, they’re few and far between; even this program is fairly limited.
Shared micromobility is a perfect use case for connecting riders to public transportation. In September, the Seattle Department of Transportation launched a promotion to connect Lime bike and scooter share trips with public transit. That rewards program is funded by a 2016 ballot initiative called the Seattle Transit Measure.
A Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company has not received financial support from the government or transit agencies for this pilot.