Product Strategy for a 15-Minute San Francisco–Seattle Travel Technology

Google is developing a technology that can carry a person from San Francisco to Seattle in 15 minutes, at \$1000 per person for a one-way trip. As a product manager, what would you do with it? Decide how the technology should be used, who it should serve first, how it would make money, and how you would bring it to market. ```hint Price the time saved Compare the whole door-to-door trip and its cost with flying between the two cities today, and work out who values the hours saved more than the fare. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - How many people can travel per trip, how often can it depart, and can it carry cargo as well as passengers? - Where are the departure and arrival points, and how long do boarding and any security screening take? - Is \$1000 the fare we must charge or Google's cost per traveler, and is it expected to fall as volume grows? - Has the technology been proven safe for passengers, or does certification still lie ahead? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Clarification of what the technology can and cannot do before deciding how to use it - Candidate uses or customer segments compared on the value of speed against the price, with one prioritized and the reason - A business model, including whether Google should operate the service, partner with an operator or license the technology - A phased launch plan with a primary metric and guardrails - Risks such as safety, regulation, public perception and reliance on a single route ### Follow-up Questions - Which route would you add after San Francisco–Seattle, and how would you choose it? - How would your strategy change if the cost per traveler fell by an order of magnitude over the next few years? - What would you do if a serious safety incident happened in the first year of service?