This week, Uber launched its most promising project: Self-driving taxi’s!
Don’t get too excited. The first handful of self-driving Ubers is currently only available to the lucky residents of downtown Pittsburgh. In this pilot-stage of the project, the cars come with an engineer on the driver’s seat and a co-pilot to take down observations. Passengers taking this experimental taxi get their ride for free, instead of paying $1,05 per mile.
Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick mentions that in the long run, prices will fall so low that the per-mile cost of travel, even for long trips in rural areas, will be lower in a driverless Uber than in a private car.
And that is where things become interesting!
Imagine every time you need a ride, you push a button on your mobile phone and an autonomous car appears. Who needs a car, when a driverless Uber is more affordable than owning a private car? Technology poses the question of whether it’s necessary to own an automobile. Already, “millennials” appear to value car ownership less than previous generations do.
“That could be seen as a threat,” says Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson. “We see it as an opportunity.” Earlier this year, Uber and Volvo signed a $300 million pact to develop a fully autonomous car that will be ready for the road by 2021. But the Volvo deal isn’t exclusive. Besides, Uber plans to install self-driving kits into existing vehicles. With its a plan to build an autonomous vehicle empire, Uber aims to replace more than 1 million human drivers with self-driving cars as soon as possible.
With the rise of autonomous vehicles and car sharing services, McKinsey recently predicted that by 2050 we can do with 75% less cars!
Has Uber, disruptor of the taxi-industry, given the start signal for the disruption of the car industry?
Sources:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-08-18/uber-s-first-self-driving-fleet-arrives-in-pittsburgh-this-month-is06r7on?utm_content=business
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2015/08/21/stap-jij-straks-in-een-zelfrijdende-uber-tesla-taxi-niet-zo-snel-a1495264
http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/a-road-map-to-the-future-for-the-auto-industry
http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/ten-ways-autonomous-driving-could-redefine-the-automotive-world
