Eleven years ago, Viodi envisioned a fictional story of a shared, electric, autonomous mobility set in the year 2040.
Rides as a service, sustainability, safety, and, perhaps most importantly, affordability were centerpieces of that future. It touched upon the improved experience of mobility, as well as how the service itself and the associated technology implementation would affect the built environment. For the past decade, Viodi has covered this nascent industry to understand if and when this science fiction would become fact.
2040 Vision versus 2025 Reality #
The following table highlights some of the attributes from that story compared to a single ride taken in July 2025.
| Attribute | 2040 Vision | 2025 Waymo Reality |
|---|---|---|
| <10 minute pick up | Yes | 6-minute pick up |
| Safe | Yes | *Feels like it is a better driver than this human |
| Electric/New Form Factor | Yes | Electric, but traditional form factor |
| Music/Entertainment | Play virtual piano | Play your music – “sing to your heart’s content” |
| Experience | Home away from Home | A talking virtual agent that makes you feel at home |
| Service | Rideshare or Ridehail | Ridehail only |
| Affordability** | $0.25/mile | $14/mile |
*Waymo’s safety statistics back up this feeling.
**The 2014 story assumed a 500-mile per month, $125 subscription plan. Waymo charged $11.39 for a 1.08-mile drive, which would normally be a 0.8-mile walking or car journey, if Waymo had made a U-turn at the start of the trip.
With its pricing, it is, as Professor Kornhauser would say, still an amusement park ride for this author (as should be obvious by my giddiness). With that said, this author heard from several people who use it as an alternative to human-driven ride-hail services. To be clear, Waymo’s autonomous mobility ride-hail service is in its infancy, as, based on May 2025 data, it was providing approximately 40k rides per day compared to at least 1.1 billion daily trips taken by Americans. Still, it appears to be on the right path to cross the chasm to that 2040 vision.
Lastly, the ride was a surreal experience, but not for the obvious reason of having a robot chauffeur who is a better driver than this human. No, it was being able to ride with the namesake of one of the characters in the story. Thank you, Charlie, for filming, for your color commentary, and for turning into the man I could have never imagined. The only thing that would have made our short trip better is if one of the other characters from the story, Tom, could have joined us. Perhaps he will be the pilot for Viodi’s first electric air taxi flight.
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