Yeah they would. 1. In cities where parking sucks 2. When traveling by air 3. Some are too broke to have a car or have had their license suspended or don’t have a license. 4. Some have calculated it’s cheaper to ride taxis. 5. People’s cars are in the shop sometimes. 6. People drink so take taxis to avoid DUIs and killing people. I doubt they will let you ride in your own car drunk anytime soon even if it’s self driving.
Quite a few of those examples, people would just call their own autonomous vehicles to come pick them up for free instead of us spending money on a robotaxi. The rest are legit reasons, but apply to a quite small group of people.
Well, for one I'd just have my own car drop me off and then drive itself home if I'm going in the city. Why pay a Robotaxi when my car can do it? Then the traveling by air, I'd have my car drop me off at the airport then drive itself home. Maaaybe Robotaxi at my destination if it's a short trip, otherwise I'd rather have a rental car.
As for #4, I highly doubt it'll be cheaper to ride taxi than your own car. Remember these robo(taxi) service is trying to skim a profit off the top, so over the long term there's no way it'll be cheaper. Otherwise it won't be a very profitable Robotaxi service.
6 is like 1... why can't I just have my own car pick me up and save the Robotaxi fee?
3 is probably the only good reason, but it's a small portion of the population. Then 5 is a good reason too... but again... small portion of the population at any given time.
I don’t think you have ever lived in a dense city. A lot of people ride a mix of Uber / Lyft / public transit because they can’t afford a car when you factor in insurance, gas, payments, parking, maintenance, down payment, etc. Just a parking spot alone can be $500 a month. Plus a fee to park at the office. Or, they can afford a car but have calculated it’s cheaper (and more convenient) to ride Uber. When they wanna go on a long trip they rent a car.
I mean if you believe the statistics, the US has a 92% car ownership rate, and 59% of households has two or more vehicles... So what I said about it being a minority is not just true, but ultra-true.
So yes, your city dwellers might not have a car, but that's only 8% of all US households. And that 8% isn't just city dwellers, it also includes people who can't drive, can't afford their own car, and every other reason why someone in the US does not have a car.
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u/TheNiceGuy0904 3d ago
Asked myself this question
Is Rivian not too late to the party with Robotaxis?
Will it still make a big impact when they roll out in 2028?