Sidewalk pickup from stores & restaurants is also a thing. You place an order, drive your car up to the restaurant, and someone brings the order up to your car. Infinitely easier than finding a parking spot and walking into the store, especially in a busy neighborhood. This is the same thing.
Hummm. Okay. I guess I'm aware of this for like, grocery pickup or calling ahead for something like a BestBuy order, but I always envisioned those things being situations where the customer parks in a parking lot out in front of the store.
When I take Waymos around SF, a really common part of the process is, upon reaching the drop-off location, the Waymo realizes there's no space, the road is too busy to comfortably double-park, and it shifts into "Looking for a spot to pull-over..." mode. It's not uncommon for it to drive a full block away from my drop-off location in order to find a safe spot.
I was applying that mindset to this situation. I agree that if they can guarantee that a Waymo is just parking/double-parking right in front of the store and all the employee has to do is take a step outside, drop it in the trunk, and shut the trunk - that that is sustainable.
