An Autoethnographic Study of the Waymo One Autonomous Ridesharing Ecosystem: Exploring Issues of Accessibility

Autoethnography is a primarily qualitative research method, often used in the social sciences, in which a researcher documents personal experiences and reflections in a given context. We leveraged the autoethnographic research method to explore the usability and accessibility of one of the most advanced autonomous ridesharing ecosystems in the United States, Waymo One, by taking five rides in Phoenix, Arizona. Our findings, collected by a team of experienced user experience researchers, suggest that while Waymo One may be a uniquely transformative technology, several aspects of system implementation may create interaction and accessibility barriers for users with visual disabilities. This work contributes to the scientific literature by investigating autonomous vehicle accessibility by exploring a current production system. These findings could prove valuable for improving the technology in question and providing insight into the appropriateness and use of ethnography for human-computer interaction research.