Waymo is ‘The best thing Since sliced bread’

Adela Uchida of CBS affiliate KEYE-TV in Austin reported this week about staff members at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired “finding freedom” in riding Waymo. The story centers on Marcus Cardwell, a receptionist at the school.

Cardwell staunchly believes Waymo is “the best thing since sliced bread,” as it helps him get around on his own with agency. He said, in part, reclaiming his independence is “absolutely important” because “you don’t ever like to feel like you have to wait on someone else when something’s important.” He added it’s normal for those in the Blind community to perpetually wait at the mercy of public transit, friends, etc.

“The future-looking thing to where you kind of feel that, even if people are busy and there’s not a person available to you, that there may be an autonomous car available,” Cardwell said.

Emily Coleman, the school’s superintendent, expounded on Cardwell’s sentiments.

“Mobility is probably one of the biggest barriers to employment, recreation,” she said. “And so having more ways to access independence is just always a positive change for your community.”

Coleman continued: “They had never gone anywhere by themselves, because you always need a driver,” she said. “You always have to be on a bus, like you’re never alone and in charge of your own independence. And it was the stories about like, wow, that was my first time ever alone in a car.”

The full interview with Cardwell, et al, was posted to KEYE’s YouTube channel.

I’ve said it numerous times, but it bears repeating: Waymo is unequivocally a revolutionary technology for accessibility. While it is obviously important to address problems like Waymo vehicles blocking traffic and becoming better, safer drivers, to unilaterally want to ban them, or dismiss their viability, is shortsighted and reeks of privilege. The fear of riding in an self-driving vehicle is one thing, and entirely understandable, but city leaders—in Austin, San Francisco, or anywhere else Waymo is running—should take a step back and seriously consider what Waymo enables for the disability community. Again, there are issues—if you’re a wheelchair user, for example, you’re excluded from the experience—but for people like Cardwell (and myself!), Waymo is a revelation of the highest order. That shouldn’t be minimized—but it is.