AIBU to think we don’t want driverless taxis?

[Burnedbyquestions]

Driverless Ubers now bookable in London - as a pedestrian I would not feel safer knowing cars are driverless and as a taxi passenger I want to support humans to have a livelihood, not increase numbers on benefits and give Uber more profits. Surely most people agree? Appreciate taxi drivers need tighter controls after all the sex attack and intimidation problems but I don’t think driverless anything is the solution.
If taxis were that cheap what would happen to buses/trains? The roads would be clogged up with individual passengers in cars instead - I can’t see the point of them.

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.

and a trailing robo-cop to chase the thieving git who's just nicked your parcel off your doorstep!

So sorry to hear that @NarnianQueen . Good luck 🤞

I want driverless taxis. Have used them several times in the US and it has felt very safe, would be happy to see them become standard over here too.

We shouldn't artificially prop up jobs that are no longer needed. Driverless cars are safer. Throughout the whole of time new ways have come in and changed up the workforce.

If someone finds they can't make it as a taxi driver. They can get a new job and do something else.

Imagine your only skill being able to drive a car around the whole day.

It isn't just about jobs though, they pollute more when not electric. They don't turn off and run even when they have no passengers, clogging up traffic. I am surprised the ultra low emission zones are letting them be used in London in this way for that reason alone.

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

Why did you feel the need to point that out. Of course I realise people can get Ubers if they want too.
Here's a list of why using your local established taxi firm is a better idea though.

• No Surge Pricing: Traditional private taxi firms generally use fixed rates or structured metered tariffs that do not fluctuate based on sudden weather changes, high demand, or peak hours, preventing unexpected price spikes.

• Strict Background Checks & Licensing: Private hire drivers often face more rigorous, localized vetting procedures (such as enhanced criminal records checks and medical examinations) mandated by local regulatory authorities or municipalities compared to standard app-based screening.

• Advanced and Guaranteed Bookings: Private taxi firms excel at scheduled or advance bookings (such as early-morning airport transfers), ensuring a vehicle is formally dispatched and secured rather than relying on an app driver being available in the immediate vicinity at that exact moment.

• Deep Local Expertise: Professional private hire drivers often possess extensive, firsthand geographical knowledge of their city or region, allowing them to navigate around unexpected road closures or heavy traffic intuitively without relying solely on GPS navigation.

• Formal Accountability: If an issue or dispute arises, private taxi companies operate under direct local council or municipal licensing frameworks, offering clear and official channels for complaints and regulatory oversight

I would love to use a local established taxi firm but there isn’t one. The last one died a death due to being less reliable than Veezu and Uber.

However, back to the increasing tech for taxis, my main issue with that is it often misses out catering for the vulnerable minority as they are perceived as ‘more trouble than they’re worth’ or not even considered. The wheelchair user, the person without a wheelchair or walker but struggles to get in and out of a car, the person whose partner has to be helped in and out of a car, the person with 2 or 3 bags of shopping, the person with two cat carriers, the person who would like the driver to stop next to a post box so they can just pop out and post a letter, I could go on.

Pretty common already in China to have deliveries and takeswys delivered by robots. We have a declining population with a lot of those delivery type jobs supported by immigration. Which in turn keeps productivity and wage growth low.

What is the biggest cause of accidents and deaths in cars? Human error which encompasses both poor driving and losses in concentration. There will be glitches with driverless cars and accidents but much less than with human drivers. In addition poor driving leads to so many traffic jams and this will help eradicate them. It sounds really harsh but they will be safer . I'm not just talking about taxis but all cars in general.

Well of course they have tried. But I don;t think they have suceeded from what I have seen.

Im sure there will always be choice

I would love driverless taxis. No dealing with small talk/weird car smells/other peoples body odours/crap music and much safer!

You have been able to pre-book Ubers now for ages.

Tbh when anyone reels off the list of benefits of local/black cabs to great detail, I always assume they have a relative who is a black cab driver etc.

Young people refer to taxis/cabs as ‘Ubers’ and have done for a long time now. People said Uber wouldn’t last, and it’s prolifered. Driverless cars will be prevail, for sure.

It's going to hit a certain community hard. That's what their men folk do - drive taxis.

I'd be interested to try it actually!

I certainly believe that driverless cars will be the standard in the future. Probably not in my life time, but very well maybe in my kids or future grandchildren's lives.

I think I'd quite enjoy being able to zone out in the backseat, while the car did the work!

Do they cope with pot holes or passing places? I do wonder how a driverless car would negotiate our country lanes! Assuming they overcome these practicalities, I would choose one in preference to a driven taxi.

My biggest concern would be whether the driverless taxi knows someone has thrown up in it, and then can it clean itself, or does it know it needs to take itself off to the nearest cleaning station? I imaging they must all belong to someone (Uber?), and that there is a garage or somewhere where they all go to refil/recharge/get cleaned/get serviced at least once a day.

Not that anyone cares, but Uber Access fares are the same as a regular Uber, when available, About 1/3rd that of a black cab. (And in Brum black cabs don't run Friday afternoons).

Owning an autonomous car makes no sense in a resource scarce world. It would be sitting around doing fuck all for well over 12 hours a day on average when it could be out there moving people and goods around.

When you can call a rise in less time than it takes to put your coat on and lock the door, having to have a dedicated car for personal use will (once again) become the preserve of the wealthy.

(Some) folk scoffed that the automobile could ever replace the horse. As a lot of unemployed saddlers, farriers and stablehands found out within a generation.

You're asking specifically about taxis, but this could be the first step to getting rid of normal car ownership, so that's why I'd say it's good. No more kids crashing with their mates, drunk. No more drink driving, or people who are not longer safe to dive, but doing so because they're scared to go on a bus. A better world for those with certain disabilities. If organised well, there would be less congestion as AIs could plan and organise appropriate ridesharing.
Sure, terrorists could hack into it, and technology might fail, as could be the case for existing public transport. But the risks wouldn't be greater than they are now.

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 .

All true. However I feel we have settled into an acceptable level of deaths, injuries and environmental distress in order to allow people to own and use cars. That's unlikely to disappear overnight. As this thread (or any where people try to condemn speeding) shows.