Look out - it's a Goober! Google's über-Uber robo apptaxi ploy Google may be working on an Uber-like service using autonomous vehicles, reports Bloomberg. The financial newswire's story says Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond, who sits on Uber's board, has mentioned Google's interest in some kind of Uber competitor, and that possible conflicts of interest are therefore being …
No conflict of interest at all. Uber's business model is based on passing all the costs of capital, vehicle maintenance, insurance etc on to it's drivers to be able to provide service at a lower cost to the customer. If they can run a fleet of Google autocars (as close to 24-hours a day as is possible) at a lower cost than it takes to pay it's current human drivers, they will do so.
And Google would be more than happy to provide Uber with cost-priced or even subsidised autocars just to get a fleet of them on the road and accepted in the public's consciousness, which will pave the way for mass sales.
Not necessarily, personal vehicle ownership has the following drawbacks:
Costs for purchase, maintenance and insurance.
Takes up space in the garage that could be better used for watching pornos.
If it ain't in a garage, then its a hassle to move off the street whenever a snow emergency* is declared.
All that crap for something that spends most of its time not being used vs. hiring a Johnny Cab any time of day whenever you need one...
I'd take the Johnny Cab.
*for the Britons, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_emergency
Presumably these will the privacy equivalent of using Google Chrome and The Borg will target all of your personal information to make the most money possible out of you.
I for one expect to soon see lines of 'Borg-Mobiles' outside every strip club and whorehouse in town - so that Google can fully monetise targeting punters with adverts for one handed viewing material....
Google would never misuse data that they've obtained through normal provision of a service (such as money, directors, etc) for their own benefit, and I'm shocked that you could suggest such a thing! The company is a paragon of virtue for privacy, and fully respects everyone's IP...
People will still own their own and in fact will own more as people who can't drive will be able to use one.
I'm not too sure about that. If Google offered a subscription service where I would have a self-driving car available to summon or send off whenever I wanted, and if the price was right, I'd sign up and never bother owning a horseless carriage ever again. Never again bother with parking, insurance, revisions, lining up at gas stations? Oh if I ever see the day!...
Actually I'm surprised trucks aren't an area they're exploring more directly. It seems like a specific scenario especially well suited to automation, with pre-planned routes predominantly on 'easy' roads.
Ahhhh, instead of Stephen King's Christine, you're going for "Trucks"?
People will still own their own and in fact will own more as people who can't drive will be able to use one.
I'll buy one, IF they ever work (as in it literally drives itself without me at the controls). My 3 hour 15 minute a day commute would suddenly become productive, and at a price point of say £20k, represents only the next 3 or 4 years season ticket.
Summoning one is unlikely to be cost effective for 80ish miles per day five days per week.
What it will do is kill off taxi drivers, truck drivers and car park attendants.
Train drivers too. There's no way to keep all that infrastructure running when people can pay about the same to be driven to work in a guaranteed seat, which is clean, air conditioned, and always on time. That's quite without the notion of changing public transport type several times on a convoluted route pre-determined by the public transport planners.
Depending on the flexibility of large employers, it could ameliorate rush hour a little, as with onboard wifi, I could work on my way to work, so set off a little later. Worst case I use the time to sleep, study, or relax in front of a movie.
I'll still keep my manual cars for fun driving, but commuting into London by car just isn't fun. And it's not a lot better on the train/tube.
I'm not so sure that autonomous vehicles will kill taxi, bus etc... as there will still be legal liability attached to the Human-in-the-loop (HITL).
For example, in the personal driver scenario I have floated the idea (elsewhere on ElReg boards) that if the driver grabs the wheel (for non-emergency) the insurance rates will dynamically change to reflect this.
Taxi cabs are not just people movers, but also luggage etc.. I suspect that for people needing help, taxis will still exist, although the transit will be autonomous, the driver will be legally liable/provided to help occupants. Vehicle ownership might not be needed?
Finally, trucks already have the HITL as the legal guardian of the stock, as I am betting FedEx/UPS etc... do, so no loss of people there. Probably better behaved trucks though...
What will change is that since accidental collisions will drop precipitously once a critical mass of AV's are on the road, the cost of ownership of a vehicle may simply be the risk of the human driving a rented vehicle. Insurance companies are not a charity and for the vast number of non-professional driving, insurance will simply be too expensive.
The point missed by the general public is the critical threshold of AV's that will self-organise. The comment made above about Google using Uber as a front for this, may well be spot on.
P.
Taxi cabs are not just people movers, but also luggage etc.. I suspect that for people needing help, taxis will still exist, although the transit will be autonomous, the driver will be legally liable/provided to help occupants. Vehicle ownership might not be needed?
Goober website: Dear traveller, thank-you for booking a taxi thru Goober. You have indicated that you have 3 large bags and will require assistance. To assist you, please note that a Google Red Cap will be present in your taxi when it arrives, and will assist you with your bags. Please be aware that the Google Red Cap will accompany you for a brief part of your journey so he can be returned to the nearest Red Cap Central Location ready to assist another passenger. This will only add a short ... <calculates> 52 miles and a brief <calculates> 72 minutes to your journey. Have a nice day!
Does this explain the insane amount of tax on petrol and high public transport ticket prices in this country? Are they being artificially inflated in order to allow Google's "Johnny Cab" to move in at a cheaper rate, therefore encouraging people to use them and thus allowing Google and the government to track us all more effectively???
And just to clarify before the usual howls of indignation start - this is intended as a joke...
No conspiracy, unless you think politicians voting on their own pay is dodgy...
A shit government costs a lot of your money, and in the UK they have their claws in everywhere.
Here in the US the gas price drops for the first time in a decade and the talking-heads can't wait to float the idea of "updating" the gas tax.
Petrol is currently $1.79 US.Gal. here in Knox, TN. It makes a lot of things cheaper.
P.
The issue with unmanned vehicles success here, is that taxi's, truckers and bus drivers in the US have very militant unions that won't stand still for automation. Just as fully automatic steam boilers are still required to have their human "tender's" be onsite 24/7/365 in most cities, the same will happen with unmanned vehicles.
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