Overview

• Apurva Bendre’s Instagram clip of her parents enjoying a Waymo ride in San Francisco has amassed nearly 100,000 views.
• In her caption, Bendre said the first 15-minute trip felt “safe, smooth and honestly more trustworthy than a manual driver,” leading them to book a second ride immediately.
• Waymo publicly replied to the viral post with the comment “A generational trip,” marking its rare direct engagement with a customer story.
• Social media users celebrated the wholesome moment, praising the parents’ delight and speculating on the expanding role of driverless transport.
• The episode highlights Waymo’s position as a frontrunner in a growing network of autonomous taxi services operating in cities from Los Angeles to Austin.