Waymo: Introducing Transit Rewards

This one's about transportation, not home energy upgrades, but here's what it covers. Waymo, the self-driving ride service, is launching a rewards program in the San Francisco Bay Area that pays riders for combining its cars with public transit. Riders link a Visa card in the Waymo app, and if they take a Waymo trip and a transit ride within two hours of each other, they automatically get $2.85 in Waymo credit, the cost of a San Francisco bus fare. The program covers all 27 Bay Area transit agencies that accept contactless Visa payment. It starts with Waymo employees before opening to the public in the coming weeks, and the company says it plans to expand the idea to other cities.

Alongside the rewards program, Waymo is partnering with Caltrain, leasing 40 parking spaces at Caltrain stations to stage its cars for riders connecting to trains. The company says it hopes to set up similar arrangements with other transit agencies. This builds on earlier transit credit programs Waymo has run in San Francisco and Los Angeles, a spot in the LA Metro Mobility Wallet, and a microtransit partnership with Via in Chandler, Arizona.

None of this involves home energy costs, rebates, or equipment. It's a mobility and transit-payment initiative, so it has no direct bearing on decisions about insulation, heat pumps, or weatherization for your house.