I have no idea how robotaxis are supposed to change anything? What is the argument here?
Has automation done anything other than reduce costs for the owner?
Here is the reality of robotaxis:
Investors are already salivating at the thought of zero-labour-cost ride-hailing. Billions of dollars are being poured into autonomous vehicles.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/gauging-investment-in-self-driving-cars/
What does that mean for the transition from ICE to EVs? Well, at face value it looks great right. EVs are intrinsically better suited for automation than ICEs. So this means more demand for EVs. So far so good. But things fall apart pretty quickly:
Once automation can be implemented safely, investors are gonna go wild. They are going to sweep up every single low-cost EV vehicle. We are already seeing huge wait lists for EVs and hybrids. And we are already seeing huge fleet purchases
https://electrek.co/2017/11/20/uber-volvo-xc90/
There is absolutely no doubting that EVs will be inaccessible to the average American household until ride hailing companies will meet their fleet demands.
Well, maybe people will drive less with autonomous ride-hailing services?
Maybe. But not really
"The trends they're looking at are a result of what happened during the 2008 to 2012 recession," said Hartwig. "There was a brief dip in miles traveled during that time."Now, however, the number of drivers is rising, and new vehicle registrations are up as millennials reach their prime earning years. Young adults are no longer living with their parents or opting not to drive. "They're buying homes and living in the suburbs where you can't get an Uber or a Lyft," he added.
Hartwig went on to say that in 2013, for example, 195 million private passenger vehicles were insured and by 2014, that number was 198 million.
That figure is probably continuing to rise as millennials become an even more significant and growing part of the motoring public. "My kids are a prime example," he said. "My kids never said 'I want to Uber it.' They want cars. When people have the means, they get behind the wheel."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/are-americans-really-driving-less/
On the other hand, this study claims that people are less likely to purchase vehicles when using sharing services:
http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTA-Shared-Mobility.pdf
But here is the problem, ridesharing prices do NOT reflect their actual costs. CompaniesBURNING cash from depressing their prices to push out competitors. Not only that, their drivers are being paid extreme poverty wages,
https://www.wired.com/2014/07/ubers-brilliant-strategy-to-make-itself-too-big-to-ban/
https://gizmodo.com/mit-study-uber-and-lyft-drivers-make-less-than-4-an-h-1823455747
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-06/uber-spent-10-7-billion-in-nine-years-does-it-have-enough-to-show-for-itAnd here’s the kicker. Ridesharing services has increased congestion.
https://www.archdaily.com/889819/studies-show-ridesharing-services-like-uber-lyft-actually-increase-congestion-in-citiesAnd it gets better! Ridesharing is reducing the use of public transportation.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wj4n8q/uber-lyft-are-making-public-transit-worse-ridesharing-citiesOh yes, it gets even better. We’re seeing cities completely opt out of public transportation for privatized ridesharing!
https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/12/17109708/via-arlington-texas-rideshare-app-replaces-bus
And I’m sure once these private ride-hailing companies have a complete monopoly on transportation they’re going to keep costs low and play nice with regulators and policy makers. Maybe not
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/12/why-everyone-hates-uber-seven-step-playbook
https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-awkward-dislike-mass-transit/
The only thing autonomous vehicles will do is add more vehicles to the road.
------
Some of the posters here need to get out of the fantasy that emissions-free technologies are magic and get to sidestep all the social, political, and economic forces which exist in our society.