No I would not use one, how would a driverless taxi know that the previous fare had been sick in it (or worse) and turn itself in for cleaning before coming to me?
Don't forget to factor in the cost of repairing the vandalism and other abuse these things would suffer.There would of course be a profit margin for the operator, but that would be vastly lower than the cost of paying a human.
They would be equipped with the requisite ramps, guide rails, audio, visual messagea etc just as with a bus. There is no requirement for a bus driver to physically assist a disabled passenger board as far as I'm aware so don't see any problem with a driverless taxi.How would driverless taxis get around disability legislation? IF RRBs couldn’t just have a few accessible and then loads not so surely taxis can’t get away with that?
Congestion should be less of a problem because they will be able to drive closer together safely. In particular, junction capacity would be improved. If congestion is a problem in certain areas then driverless buses or trams would take up the slack on the major corridors with single or low occupancy vehicles waiting at strategic locations to take people to the exact end destinations. Basically similar to how integrated transport works in Germanic cities but with driverless vehicles used to connect instead of buses.
If the car is autonomous it opens up more parking options - parking further away or in stacking systems. Doesn't matter if unparking takes longer if you summon your car to meet you at the pick up point before you leave your desk. Also can be parked closer together if the doors dont need to open, and theoretically you could have the car park take over the cars - park them up tight and then tell a row "shunt forward, the car at the back needs to get out".The only problem then is parking
I am not convinced by this. Legals will make the cars obey the law and drive cautiously - humans dont obey braking distances, barge their way through, ignore pedestrians stepping into the road etc (refraining from commenting whether taxi drivers are worse than average on this.....). Once pedestrians realise that they can step out and the car will stop it will be mayhem! For the manufacturers to program the cars with "I had priority so I mowed them down" would be courageous!Congestion should be less of a problem because they will be able to drive closer together safely
Imagine how easy it would be for Horace de Vere ColeOnce pedestrians realise that they can step out and the car will stop it will be mayhem!