Self-Driving Cars to be Deployed as Free Taxis in San Jose
Alright, readers, it is Friday again! We all spend our Fridays in different ways. For some of us it means a quiet dinner at home, and for others it means going out and enjoying some of the charms of living in 2018.
Well, a lot of folks get around by motor vehicle, but after consuming various beverages are in no condition to drive back, so up comes a taxi, Uber of Lyft to get us home safely.
Well, next year, Daimler will be offering free robot taxi rides to passengers in the Peninsula near San Francisco and San Jose. Waymo has been offering similar services in Arizona for a while now.
The question of whether you would take a ride from a self-driving car is becoming more and more of a real one. Would you feel safe taking such a ride? What if it was significantly cheaper? What if it was statistically safer?
Well, your humble blogger predicts the following sequence of events: self-driving cars will prove safe and reliable and will become the norm; human professional drivers will find their jobs reduced or eliminated by automation; a flood of cumulative trauma claims will be filed by recently laid-off drivers; your humble blogger’s job will be secure for another decade or so until an automated lawyer is produced; the T-800 begins hunting for John Connor.
And no, dear readers, your humble blogger respectfully submits that there’s nothing wrong with the Governator having to go through the workers’ compensation system that he reformed.
All kidding aside, there is a huge sector of the economy that is directly or indirectly related to professional drivers. From providing transportation to passengers in smaller vehicles such as taxis and Uber/Lyft rides, to driving busses with dozens of passengers or bigger trucks with cargo.
These drivers are paid a good chunk of money and spend money in the process of doing their jobs – refueling their cars, refueling their bellies, patronizing hotels, etc. How will California’s economy look when a self-driving car (that likely recharges an electric battery rather than a gas tank) does all those jobs without the need for food, breaks, or sleeping quarters?
Just something to consider as you enjoy your libations this Friday night, dear readers!