Why Europeans won’t be having sex in a robotaxi any time soon… unless they go to America
As Cruise and Waymo, the two most important players in the robotaxi market, extend their presence in key US cities, makes it clear that sooner or later others there will have to follow suit; while in Europe, we will likely have to wait some time before a driverless taxi pulls up at our door.
San Francisco’s decision to allow robotaxis to operate around the clock, in addition to expanding their fleets and charging their passengers, shows that any issues generated by these vehicles in the cities in which they operate are minor, anecdotal and isolated and in no way should interfere with what is simply a technological sign of the times that will be good for the cities and their inhabitants.
Self-driving fleets of taxis are available in a growing number of cities, where the idea is to multiply their availability tenfold. As a result, residents and visitors to these cities are already seeing their presence, with no safety driver as perfectly normal, so much so that there are reports of people having sex in robotaxis. Meanwhile, autonomous buses and shuttles are also increasing their presence on the roads.
In the United States, regulating autonomous vehicles in cities, contrary to other motor vehicles, is not a federal matter, and instead is the…
