Unicorn Roots

Waymo

Transportation can be one of the most challenging obstacles for those of us with disabilities, though it can be adapted to accommodate many disabilities. Lights and visual alerts can help Deaf drivers respond to cues that hearing drivers respond to instinctively. Pedal extensions and hand controls can help drivers with significant height differences and mobility disabilities. But these adaptations often don’t address the needs of those with less visible and invisible disabilities. Blind and visually impaired people often rely on public transportation and assistance from others to get around. People with epilepsy, narcolepsy, psychiatric disabilities, and other similar conditions frequently have to rely on outside help entirely. Fortunately, my ASD and the type of epilepsy I have don’t prevent me from holding a driver’s license. But I live in San Francisco, and navigating the city with a service dog comes with its own set of challenges. That’s where ride-shares have helped, for the most part.

What able-bodyminded people often forget about are the smaller, everyday challenges that people with disabilities face. Some ride-share drivers see a service dog and refuse the ride outright. Others are cold and dismissive. Social media is littered with stories of blind ride-share users who walk to a waiting Lyft or Uber only to find that the driver has already left, or they’re told that the driver doesn’t take dogs. I personally have been told more than once that I don’t look blind and that people fake it all the time. While service dog fraud is certainly a real problem, the law requires reasonable accommodations, and that doesn’t change based on how someone looks.

Waymo doesn’t have any of these problems. The app allows users to set accessibility preferences that take effect the moment a ride is ordered. Wheelchair accessible cars are available, but the accessibility customization options go much further than that. Need the car to announce itself and tell you where the door is? Done. Need the doors to unlock automatically? Done. Need the number of in-car announcements adjusted? Done. Need extra legroom for a service dog? Done. Need a specific temperature and airflow? Done. Users can also connect directly to Spotify, YouTube Music, and iHeart and adjust the audio settings from their smartphone. To make things even easier, as long as a service dog is well-behaved, there’s no need to let Waymo know in advance.

Of course I did my research before writing this, and part of that research involved testing things out for myself. My first Waymo ride came as a surprise treat after my mom took me to a stand-up show at the Castro Theater in April 2026. Initially, I thought what a lot of people probably think. “No driver? Robots and AI?” But I was pleasantly surprised. I still think about the broader questions surrounding driverless car safety. But in a world where people routinely forget to look up from their phones, neglect to look both ways when crossing the street, and where road rage is almost a given, a car that is always watching and adjusting to my needs before I even open the door feels like a blessing.

So what’s the downside? Initially, I wondered whether Waymo was somehow listening or watching me. But when I got into the car, the system addressed this right away, walking me through everything I needed to know and confirming that its two onboard microphones were not active during the ride. It even told me that I could “sing to my heart’s content.” This immediately gave me confidence. As any neurodivergent person knows, stims and tics can be a significant obstacle in public spaces. But that isn’t an issue in a Waymo car. The other obvious concern is cost, which will vary depending on demand, locations, time of day, and travel distance. That said, the most expensive Waymo ride that I could find in San Francisco was comparable to standard ride-share prices. In fact, my two rides between the Castro and the Kaiser Medical Center campus came to less than $30 in total. All in all, I’m impressed.

Resources 

Waymo LLC (2026). Our Mission: Be The World’s Most Trusted Driver. Waymo. https://waymo.com/about/