There's driverless as a comfort / safety feature and... there's autonomous ride-hailing

Most of the times, we discuss the first. But what is there to expect from robo cabs as semi-Public Transport?

Great article about the pro's and cons. "These companies, known as TNCs, have two options to become profitable.
Increase how much they charge for their services, or find other revenue streams. So most have ventured
into e-bikes and e-scooters, food and freight delivery and PUBLIC TRANSPORT."

Ride-share companies are losing billions, so why their interest in unprofitable public transport?

Around the world, very few public transport agencies make money, while ride-sharing companies are making huge losses. So why partner up, and how do those partnerships work?

theconversation.com

 

[240vPlug]

Insurance and cars are both insanely expensive now. The future I see is one where the majority of folks don't own a personal vehicle. Robo taxi and public transit will be the primary means of transportation.

People will of course still own classic/collectible cars.

It's a large expense. Let's say the average car payment is $700 per month and average insurance amounts to $100 a month. That's $800 per month or nearly $10,000 per year and that's for one car. Most families have at least two vehicles.

I enjoy some driving however if inexpensive robotaxi was available I would certainly consider downsizing to one vehicle. I think that's they key is having it be affordable for everyday use.

What if you could subscribe to the robo taxi service for say $200 per month. That would be a 75% savings!

 

[Dewg]

The downside is that if the service is around as expensive as owning your own car, why wouldn't people own their own car. It needs to be cheaper than owning a car.

 

[ThomasD]

They need to take you where you need to go when you want to be there. Keep you safe from other passenger actions. Not be sticky smelly rolling piles of nastiness. No surge pricing like UBER does.

 

[voyager]

IMO, vehicle size determines displacement, driverless, deployability, costs, safety, eco-footprint