Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Joe analyzes a recent MIT study showing that Waymo robotaxis drove approximately 44% of their California miles without passengers and compares those findings to his own Uber and Lyft driving data.
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A new MIT study found that Waymo robotaxis drove about 44% of their California miles without a passenger.
That statistic surprised me.
In this video, I break down the study, compare it to my own Uber and Lyft driving data from Minneapolis-St. Paul, and explain why my deadhead mileage is nowhere near what the study reported.
Technology.org article:
technology.org/2026/06/04/waymo-robotaxis-empty-miles-traffic
MIT Study:
findingspress.org/article/161870-millions-of-trips-waymo-empty-miles-california-s-first-thousand-days-of-commercial-robotaxi-service
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More from Rideshare Guy:
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🌎 RSG is in Spanish! Check out @TheRideshareGuyenEspanol
Have you thought about trying delivery?
🎒Doordash is the #1 delivery app right now! Dashers are regularly making $20-25/hour! Sign up here: yt.therideshareguy.com/doordash
🎦Make sure you are covered with a dash camera! RSG recommends the following cameras:
Vantrue N4: amzn.to/3VZB5hW
Vantrue N5: amzn.to/3SO4OJY
Viofo T130: amzn.to/4dr4OIf
Links may contain affiliate links where we may receive a small compensation for. To see our disclosure here: therideshareguy.com/disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Website: therideshareguy.com
Facebook: facebook.com/TheRideshareGuy
Twitter: twitter.com/TheRideshareGuy
Instagram: instagram.com/therideshareguy
TikTok: tiktok.com/@therideshareguy_
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About The RideShare Guy:
I'm Harry, the founder of The Rideshare Guy. I started driving for Uber and Lyft in 2015 and eventually quit my day job as an aerospace engineer to run The Rideshare Guy full time.
These days, I'm a trusted media expert on all things rideshare and have a number of contributors across the country who are all driving for Uber and Lyft and other gig companies like Instacart, Doordash, and Postmates.
The RideShare Guy has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNBC, NPR, 60 Minutes on CBS TV, The Washington Post, Wired, Forbes, SFGate, and hundreds more.
The RideShare Guy has interviewed top gig economy leaders such as:
• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi - youtu.be/FwxToI-tL7M
• Lyft CEO David Risher - youtu.be/CFqSlmbl8Qs
• DoorDash CEO Tony Xu - youtu.be/TimNeLRcKho
Tags
#Uber
#Lyft
#Driver
Joe analyzes a recent MIT study showing that Waymo robotaxis drove approximately 44% of their California miles without passengers and compares those findings to his own Uber and Lyft driving data.
🎯Earn smarter, stress less. Get guaranteed pay with Solo - try it free!: therideshareguy.com/joesolo
A new MIT study found that Waymo robotaxis drove about 44% of their California miles without a passenger.
That statistic surprised me.
In this video, I break down the study, compare it to my own Uber and Lyft driving data from Minneapolis-St. Paul, and explain why my deadhead mileage is nowhere near what the study reported.
Technology.org article:
technology.org/2026/06/04/waymo-robotaxis-empty-miles-traffic
MIT Study:
findingspress.org/article/161870-millions-of-trips-waymo-empty-miles-california-s-first-thousand-days-of-commercial-robotaxi-service
💻 Earn extra money when driving Uber/Lyft with Play Octopus. Get $25 when you start driving! Sign up now: therideshareguy.com/play-octopus
More from Rideshare Guy:
📰Did you know The RideShare Guy also publishes in-depth articles? Get all our money-making tips and tricks in your email for free: therideshareguy.com/subscribe-rsg
👉 MAXIMIZE your rideshare earnings with the Maximum Ridesharing Profits Course: maximumridesharingprofits.com/ridesharing
🎴Want more from RSG, become a member today: youtube.com/channel/UCCwyU2RqlalzpKIrUhYWHfw/join
🌎 RSG is in Spanish! Check out @TheRideshareGuyenEspanol
Have you thought about trying delivery?
🎒Doordash is the #1 delivery app right now! Dashers are regularly making $20-25/hour! Sign up here: yt.therideshareguy.com/doordash
🎦Make sure you are covered with a dash camera! RSG recommends the following cameras:
Vantrue N4: amzn.to/3VZB5hW
Vantrue N5: amzn.to/3SO4OJY
Viofo T130: amzn.to/4dr4OIf
Links may contain affiliate links where we may receive a small compensation for. To see our disclosure here: therideshareguy.com/disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Website: therideshareguy.com
Facebook: facebook.com/TheRideshareGuy
Twitter: twitter.com/TheRideshareGuy
Instagram: instagram.com/therideshareguy
TikTok: tiktok.com/@therideshareguy_
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About The RideShare Guy:
I'm Harry, the founder of The Rideshare Guy. I started driving for Uber and Lyft in 2015 and eventually quit my day job as an aerospace engineer to run The Rideshare Guy full time.
These days, I'm a trusted media expert on all things rideshare and have a number of contributors across the country who are all driving for Uber and Lyft and other gig companies like Instacart, Doordash, and Postmates.
The RideShare Guy has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNBC, NPR, 60 Minutes on CBS TV, The Washington Post, Wired, Forbes, SFGate, and hundreds more.
The RideShare Guy has interviewed top gig economy leaders such as:
• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi - youtu.be/FwxToI-tL7M
• Lyft CEO David Risher - youtu.be/CFqSlmbl8Qs
• DoorDash CEO Tony Xu - youtu.be/TimNeLRcKho
Tags
#Uber
#Lyft
#Driver
