If you find chatty cabbies torturous and would love to ditch the companion altogether when you catch a ride, you might be in luck — if you happen to be in one of a select handful of U.S. cities, that is. Robotaxis are proliferating in numerous U.S. markets, and according to WHYY Boston, companies like Google, Amazon, and Lyft have placed big bets on autonomous self-driving vehicles as the future favorite way to get around. But with mixed reactions from consumers and lingering safety concerns, robotaxis are still facing a bumpy ride.
Driverless cars operated by Google's Waymo service have logged millions of miles on American roads, and according to NBC Bay Area, the company itself claims that the vehicles incur about 90 percent fewer insurance claims related to property damage and bodily injury than human-operated vehicles. It sounds impressive on paper, but in practice, Waymo's fleet logs substantially lower mileage than most Americans. But its data and safety record was still sufficient to win approval to operate as a commercial taxi service for paying passengers in California and numerous other states.
So far, Waymo hasn't driven a spike in accident-related injuries or property damage, but when the technology screws up, everyone notices. According to Reuters, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently concluded a 14-month investigation into irregular driving behavior in Waymo vehicles that included traffic law violations and 17 minor collision. Waymo recalled a number of vehicles during the investigation and the NHTSA considered the matter resolved.
Other self-driving vehicle services have struggled with more severe safety incidents. General Motor's self-driving Cruise vehicle severely injured a pedestrian in 2023, which led GM to quietly yank its support from the project. And Tesla's own recently launched autonomous taxi service has hit enough speedbumps that for the moment, the self-driving feature still comes with a very human monitor.
Should you pass on a robotaxi if the opportunity arises? It's hard to say. But it's very likely that the option will eventually become available wherever we happen to be.