AVs, like Uber, will give the affluent class in cities an alternative to public transit (and inconvenient personal car ownership), thereby reducing the pressure

AVs, like Uber, will give the affluent class in cities an alternative to public transit (and inconvenient personal car ownership), thereby reducing the pressure from this politically influential segment of society to keep mass transit clean and safe, and with good schedules and routes. Mass transit quality drops to the detriment of the majority, further reinforcing the affluent class's reliance on cars, creating a vicious cycle of destruction.