AIBU to think we don’t want driverless taxis?

Our recent taxi conversation was interesting and pleasant and the car clean and comfortable.
I'm sure if you didn't want to talk though and just sit back and relax and listen to music that would be fine though. Just tell them.

I'm the future there will be air taxis I'm sure.
Cars won't just drive on the road . Maybe a long time off. I can see it coming though using air space .

I can’t wait until my own car has a driverless option! I could drive to the pub and get driven home.

Could happen with a driver. Taxis can crash. It won't be allowed in the road until it's safe anyway

So we have lots of preferences here for robot drivers vs dodgy men drivers - with dodgy men as dangerous drivers or sex attackers putting people off getting taxis.
What if there were female only taxis, driven by females and with female/children only passengers? Safer calmer better experience and saving jobs for humans?
Comments like it’s “adapt to technology or die” are exactly what I mean - we shouldn’t be putting masses of people in that position where they cannot adapt to technology so what they’re just expected to die? How exactly does a taxi driver adapt to a world of driverless taxis? They won’t die, they’ll become unemployed, drain the state of benefits and our taxi fares will line Uber pockets with insufficient tax reducing the public purse to pay for those benefits. It’s lose lose.
if the issue is bad men driving then we need an alternative of highly secure driving - black cabs need to promote their safety measures, combat false assumptions about price etc.
Driverless cars are not widely tested in real life busy narrow streets with people popping out all over the place - good human drivers can anticipate what’s going to happen and slow down in advance - we need to promote good drivers not eliminate them altogether.
And other than safety what’s the point if they’re no cheaper?
if they are cheaper then what will happen to the roads if they get clogged up with taxis? If they limit the number of cars on the roads in city centres like London then the cost will go up again rendering them pointless again.
The main benefits are for Uber, whose own shoddy driver management practices have created the perfect market conditions for their replacement - I have no confidence that they will prioritise passenger safety over profits.
Bill Gates has recently written about AI limits re human jobs, interaction etc - this seems to cover exactly those issues.
I vote for better human drivers with better safety measures. Why isn’t there a single national app for local cab drivers that offers the ease of payment and tracking that Uber has? that plus stronger safety measures and the option to request a female driver would be my preference.

So we have lots of preferences here for robot drivers vs dodgy men drivers - with dodgy men as dangerous drivers or sex attackers putting people off getting taxis.
What if there were female only taxis, driven by females and with female/children only passengers? Safer calmer better experience and saving jobs for humans?
Comments like it’s “adapt to technology or die” are exactly what I mean - we shouldn’t be putting masses of people in that position where they cannot adapt to technology so what they’re just expected to die? How exactly does a taxi driver adapt to a world of driverless taxis? They won’t die, they’ll become unemployed, drain the state of benefits and our taxi fares will line Uber pockets with insufficient tax reducing the public purse to pay for those benefits. It’s lose lose.
if the issue is bad men driving then we need an alternative of highly secure driving - black cabs need to promote their safety measures, combat false assumptions about price etc.
Driverless cars are not widely tested in real life busy narrow streets with people popping out all over the place - good human drivers can anticipate what’s going to happen and slow down in advance - we need to promote good drivers not eliminate them altogether.
And other than safety what’s the point if they’re no cheaper?
if they are cheaper then what will happen to the roads if they get clogged up with taxis? If they limit the number of cars on the roads in city centres like London then the cost will go up again rendering them pointless again.
The main benefits are for Uber, whose own shoddy driver management practices have created the perfect market conditions for their replacement - I have no confidence that they will prioritise passenger safety over profits.
Bill Gates has recently written about AI limits re human jobs, interaction etc - this seems to cover exactly those issues.
I vote for better human drivers with better safety measures. Why isn’t there a single national app for local cab drivers that offers the ease of payment and tracking that Uber has? that plus stronger safety measures and the option to request a female driver would be my preference.

Examples:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/25/driverless-taxis-collision-risk-transport-boss/

https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/17/self-driving-waymo-car-involved-crash-two-vehicles-london-29160683/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c30rgpd2n14o

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/06/driverless-car-emergency-stop-bus-advert-london-york-uk/

People get killed on the roads every day in the UK. Yet still we allow people to drive.

Im sure there will always be choice

I am just waiting for this tech bro bubble to burst.

I imagine scribes were saying the same as the printing press rolled in.

Or sailmakers as ships turned to steam.

Or blacksmiths as cars drove by not needing shoeing. (Although a few cannier ones decided to become motor car repairers ....)

I am just waiting for this tech bro bubble to burst.

@Greyover @helpfulperson Road accidents have been going down, even when traffic peaked in the 90s. Safety glass, seatbelts, Euro regulations, improved car design, speed limits & bumps. The roads are safer now than they've ever been.

You can’t be serious