3 ms·

It's not one or the other. Robotaxis shouldn't be allowed and taxi drivers should be strongly regulated.

vlovich123 3y ago
Sorry. You have regulations you can think of that prevent accidents by professional drivers? Trucking is already insanely regulated and still sees all sorts of corner cutting and safety violations. And even in ostensibly safe companies, accidents happen. It’s near impossible to simultaneously compete on cost and have safety - squeezing margins is at odds with following the rules (and that’s assuming a huge leap that the rules actually are helpful - very often no analysis is done on the ROI of any particular investment).
- gambiting 3y ago
  No I'm specifically addressing OPs point about drivers pulling 14 hour shifts - that's easily regulated everywhere. Anything beyond that is your interpretation. >>It’s near impossible to simultaneously compete on cost and have safety ....airlines exist and compete on cost with extremely stringent safety requirements?
  - vlovich123 3y ago
    We always have those regulations and people still violate them. I’m really not getting what your point is.
    - gambiting 3y ago
      That regulations should be strict and they should be followed strictly. If you live somewhere where they are not enforced then that's not a problem of regulation. But I also don't know why we moved onto this topic from me saying that robotaxis shouldn't be allowed. I got the impression that the argument was that they should because they are competing against overworked Uber drivers pulling 14 hour shifts - to which I'll say again that Uber drivers doing 14 hour shifts isn't some unmovable law of the universe, it can and should be prevented.
josephg 3y ago
Why shouldn’t robotaxis be allowed? Do you think the law be wielded to protect legacy business models?
- gambiting 3y ago
  Because the tech is crap and will remain crap - the vehicles aren't suited to be allowed on public roads. Nothing to do with business models.
  - KingOfCoders 3y ago
    Exactly! If god wanted humans to fly they would have given us wings.
    - gambiting 3y ago
      I find it interesting how on HN is verboten to even suggest that maybe some innovation pushed on us and our cities by these companies isn't actually great and isn't the same as progress of humanity. It's just shit tech used to make some techbros money at the cost of making our cities worse. But apparently that's a "luddite" view now?
      - minwcnt5 3y ago
        What's your basis for the conclusion that it's "shit tech"? Have you tried riding in one? I've found it to be an incredible product, like using the iPhone for the first time. There's one lady who's posted a lot of YouTube videos of Waymo. She's taken over 500 rides. So there are clearly people who get a lot of value out of it. Also, no one is making money off self driving tech any time soon, people have been working on it for more than a decade and it costs billions. It might be another decade before it is profitable.
        gambiting 3y ago
        Then there is this lady who highlights fundamental issues with the way these vehicles operate. This isn't a teething problem that will be resolved with an OTA - it shows the tech isn't ready to be used on public streets and probably shouldn't ever be. https://youtu.be/-Rxvl3INKSg https://youtu.be/-Rxvl3INKSg

Sorry. You have regulations you can think of that prevent accidents by professional drivers? Trucking is already insanely regulated and still sees all sorts of corner cutting and safety violations. And even in ostensibly safe companies, accidents happen. It’s near impossible to simultaneously compete on cost and have safety - squeezing margins is at odds with following the rules (and that’s assuming a huge leap that the rules actually are helpful - very often no analysis is done on the ROI of any particular investment).

gambiting 3y ago
No I'm specifically addressing OPs point about drivers pulling 14 hour shifts - that's easily regulated everywhere. Anything beyond that is your interpretation. >>It’s near impossible to simultaneously compete on cost and have safety ....airlines exist and compete on cost with extremely stringent safety requirements?
- vlovich123 3y ago
  We always have those regulations and people still violate them. I’m really not getting what your point is.
  - gambiting 3y ago
    That regulations should be strict and they should be followed strictly. If you live somewhere where they are not enforced then that's not a problem of regulation. But I also don't know why we moved onto this topic from me saying that robotaxis shouldn't be allowed. I got the impression that the argument was that they should because they are competing against overworked Uber drivers pulling 14 hour shifts - to which I'll say again that Uber drivers doing 14 hour shifts isn't some unmovable law of the universe, it can and should be prevented.

josephg 3y ago

Why shouldn’t robotaxis be allowed? Do you think the law be wielded to protect legacy business models?

gambiting 3y ago
Because the tech is crap and will remain crap - the vehicles aren't suited to be allowed on public roads. Nothing to do with business models.
- KingOfCoders 3y ago
  Exactly! If god wanted humans to fly they would have given us wings.
  - gambiting 3y ago
    I find it interesting how on HN is verboten to even suggest that maybe some innovation pushed on us and our cities by these companies isn't actually great and isn't the same as progress of humanity. It's just shit tech used to make some techbros money at the cost of making our cities worse. But apparently that's a "luddite" view now?
    - minwcnt5 3y ago
      What's your basis for the conclusion that it's "shit tech"? Have you tried riding in one? I've found it to be an incredible product, like using the iPhone for the first time. There's one lady who's posted a lot of YouTube videos of Waymo. She's taken over 500 rides. So there are clearly people who get a lot of value out of it. Also, no one is making money off self driving tech any time soon, people have been working on it for more than a decade and it costs billions. It might be another decade before it is profitable.
      - gambiting 3y ago
        Then there is this lady who highlights fundamental issues with the way these vehicles operate. This isn't a teething problem that will be resolved with an OTA - it shows the tech isn't ready to be used on public streets and probably shouldn't ever be. https://youtu.be/-Rxvl3INKSg https://youtu.be/-Rxvl3INKSg