I think that, if it were true that Waymo cars require human intervention every 1-2 miles (thus requiring 1 operator for every, say, 1-2 cars, probably constantly paying attention while the car is in motion), then it would be fair to say that the cars are not really self driving.
However, if the real number is something like an intervention every 20 or 100 miles, and so an operator is likely passively monitoring dozens of cars, and the cars themselves ask for operator assistance rather than the operator actively monitoring them, then I would agree with you that Waymo has really achieved full self driving and his predicitons on the basic viability have turned out wrong.
I have no idea though which is the case. I would be very interested if there are any reliable resources pointing one way or the other.
I disagree that regular interventions every two trips where you have no control over pickup or dropoff points counts as full self driving.
But that definition doesn’t even matter. The key factor is whether the additional overhead, whatever percentage it is, makes economic sense for the operator or the customer. And it seems pretty clear the economics aren’t there yet.
However, if the real number is something like an intervention every 20 or 100 miles, and so an operator is likely passively monitoring dozens of cars, and the cars themselves ask for operator assistance rather than the operator actively monitoring them, then I would agree with you that Waymo has really achieved full self driving and his predicitons on the basic viability have turned out wrong.
I have no idea though which is the case. I would be very interested if there are any reliable resources pointing one way or the other.