Uber and Lyft’s Sino-counterpart UberXL and LyftXL are jointly investing with Baidu into testing driverless taxi technology in the UK. Those first vehicles will be on our roads by 2026. Lyft is making its first moves into these trials with its fleet of Baidu Apollo Go cars. Test runs start in 2024! If successful, this initiative would scale up to hundreds of driverless taxis, providing this cutting edge transportation option to Londoners.
Despite all the excitement about these shiny new breakthroughs, the public is not buying it. According to a large recent YouGov poll, 反应很简单。 When price and convenience were equal, 85% opted for a taxi with a human driver. Almost 60% of UK respondents are uncomfortable at the idea of using a driverless taxi. They were uncomfortable with the idea no matter what.
Fears regarding the safety and usefulness of self-driving cars have been echoed by professionals in the field. University College London professor Jack Stilgoe warned of the difficulties involved in scaling driverless tech up to wider use cases. He acknowledged the monumental gap between testing some prototype vehicles on public streets and deploying a developed system. A robust, scaled-up system really does open up space for transit to become a real transport choice for Americans. Stilgoe noted increasing privacy invasion and the possibility of worsening congestion in cities as potential downsides. He proclaimed, “With regard to traffic, the only thing worse than a single-occupancy car, is a zero-occupancy one.”
Professor Stilgoe emphasized that the UK should take the lead in establishing standards for driverless taxi technology, suggesting that cautious progression is essential. He talked up London’s amazing success (3) in reducing automobile traffic in the core city. This kind of success would be a great model for how to responsibly implement autonomous vehicles.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander hailed the start of this new chapter in transportation. “We’re planning for self-driving cars to carry passengers for the first time from spring, under our pilot scheme – harnessing this technology safely and responsibly to transform travel,” she stated. This is why Uber is, unsurprisingly, pretty hyped on this initiative. They want to build on Britain’s global leadership in future mobility, and provide better, more reliable travel choices for Londoners.
London has already begun running autonomous passenger rides. At the same time, across the world in Atlanta, USA, Uber has been operating a robotaxi service with Waymo as partner. There are still plenty who aren’t convinced that driverless taxis are safe. The public’s skepticism highlights the need for robust regulatory oversight as Uber and Lyft seek approval from regulators to test these vehicles in London.