This is just the solution to Los Angeles' congestion problem that I was thinking of! More cars! But without drivers.
Google's self-driving taxis will make their debut on the busy streets of LA in the next few months. LA, permanently hip trendsetter that it is, will be the third city to allow self-driving cars on the road. Self-driving cars are a bit controversial; they seem to get into accidental hit-and-runs with some frequency.
In late 2023, Cruise recalled 950 driverless cars and had its operating license suspended by regulators after a pedestrian involved in a separate hit-and-run was struck and dragged 20 feet by one of its self-driving vehicles. This came only months after a Cruise robotaxi failed to yield and collided with a firetruck in a San Francisco intersection. Last December, a Waymo robotaxi was involved in a minor collision with a pick-up truck being towed in the center lane of a Phoenix Street. Several minutes later, it happened again when a second Waymo driverless vehicle collided with the same truck.
Marina Watanabe, LA Taco
Meanwhile, Los Angeles offers its own version of rideshare, Metro Micro, for a flat rate of $2.50, no surge pricing. It'll pick you up from down the street and drop you off within the service zone. Meanwhile meanwhile, taxi drivers are union members. Plus, aesthetically, I've always found yellow checkered cabs pleasant. Autonomous cars, well…I've always thought they looked like those cats with the brain implants from PETA campaign billboards.
Previously: Cruise knew its driverless cars endangered children
