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If you're just a passenger then why does it matter to you whether the taxi service is self-driving or not? Surely the benefits of self-driving would be signific

by shawnz 4y ago

If you're just a passenger then why does it matter to you whether the taxi service is self-driving or not? Surely the benefits of self-driving would be significantly more relevant for those who do want to own the vehicle?

tnel77 4y ago
I’m hoping that by excluding the human labor costs I will save some money, but we will see. It would also be nice to not have to have that awkward taxi conversation every time I go to the store.
- cwalv 4y ago
  > It would also be nice to not have to have that awkward taxi conversation every time I go to the store. This is the real reason ppl will own cars for the foreseeable future. Same reason I prefer a detatched home with a private/fenced yard. I'd probably get used to high-density living, but I doubt if I'd ever really prefer it.
tintor 4y ago
Expectation is that self-driving taxi would be cheaper than manual taxi.
fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
Average earnings (after expenses) of a ride share driver is very roughly $10/hour. If you assume a self-driving car can get 2000 hours of use a year (which seems reasonably conservative), then the self-driving car saves $20k in labor costs per year. Although self-driving tech will be expensive in the beginning, the price will likely at some point decline to be far below $20k/year. Labor is about half of the cost of a hired ride. We know this is true for Uber because there is a lot of public discussion about the budget of a rideshare driver. Not sure about taxis. Given those premises and assumptions, a person who doesn’t want to drive would care about self-driving tech because it could eventually lower the cost of hiring a ride, potentially by 50%.
- cycomanic 4y ago
  But price is said due to supply and demand not the cost of providing the service. So why do you think taxi fares will go down?
  - fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
    Because labor is half of supply, in this case.
- freejazz 4y ago
  Still has no bearing on why they would or wouldn't take taxis now.

by shawnz 4y ago

tnel77 4y ago

I’m hoping that by excluding the human labor costs I will save some money, but we will see. It would also be nice to not have to have that awkward taxi conversation every time I go to the store.

cwalv 4y ago
> It would also be nice to not have to have that awkward taxi conversation every time I go to the store. This is the real reason ppl will own cars for the foreseeable future. Same reason I prefer a detatched home with a private/fenced yard. I'd probably get used to high-density living, but I doubt if I'd ever really prefer it.

tintor 4y ago

Expectation is that self-driving taxi would be cheaper than manual taxi.

fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago

Average earnings (after expenses) of a ride share driver is very roughly $10/hour. If you assume a self-driving car can get 2000 hours of use a year (which seems reasonably conservative), then the self-driving car saves $20k in labor costs per year. Although self-driving tech will be expensive in the beginning, the price will likely at some point decline to be far below $20k/year. Labor is about half of the cost of a hired ride. We know this is true for Uber because there is a lot of public discussion about the budget of a rideshare driver. Not sure about taxis. Given those premises and assumptions, a person who doesn’t want to drive would care about self-driving tech because it could eventually lower the cost of hiring a ride, potentially by 50%.

cycomanic 4y ago
But price is said due to supply and demand not the cost of providing the service. So why do you think taxi fares will go down?
- fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
  Because labor is half of supply, in this case.
freejazz 4y ago
Still has no bearing on why they would or wouldn't take taxis now.