I find myself in the midst of an extraordinary experience, sitting in the back of a taxi as it cruises along Missouri Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. The scorching desert sun beats down on us, the temperature already nearing 100 degrees before 10am. As we make a left turn and traverse through the city, I contemplate asking the driver to increase the air conditioning, but to my surprise, there is no driver present.
The seat behind the wheel is empty, yet the indicator lights are on, as if the taxi is in operation. As we navigate the bend past a diner, I notice the steering wheel turning and straightening on its own, as if guided by invisible hands. Peering over from the back seat, I wonder if it’s my mind playing tricks on me, or if I can actually see the pedals moving up and down, as if controlled by invisible feet.
Like a bowling ball rolling down a gutter, we approach a bustling junction near 44th Street where eight lanes of traffic converge. I can hardly bear to watch, but the driverless taxi skillfully brakes and slows down, leaving a safe distance between us and the vehicle in front. The traffic lights change, and my robotic chauffeur seamlessly continues our journey, merging into the flow of cars during the morning rush hour.
How does it know when to proceed? What sorcery is at play here? I am riding in a £130,000 Waymo Jaguar I-PACE, an all-electric marvel equipped with cutting-edge autonomous driving technology. It may resemble a white Noddy car with a conspicuous black button on its roof, but it boasts an array of sophisticated sensors, including 29 cameras and a radar system that provides crucial information about the terrain, as well as the speed and distance of surrounding objects.
A pleasant automated female voice greets me upon entering the car, stating, “Nice to see you.” It promptly reminds me to buckle up, embodying the role of a diligent robotic nanny. A small screen positioned between the front seats instructs passengers to “Press Here To Start Ride,” and with a tap, we’re off without hesitation.
The car cautiously maneuvers from a parking lot to the edge of the curb, waits for an opportune moment to join the flow of traffic, and then, to my astonishment, executes a swift U-turn across a four-lane highway. A car behind us honks loudly, and I can’t help but unleash an expletive in response. However, the undeterred Waymo carries on unperturbed, almost exuding a sense of confidence and cheerfulness.
We aren’t simply embarking on a leisurely exploration; instead, we are venturing into the future. Welcome to the exhilarating yet unnerving world of robotaxis. After years of trials and tribulations, these autonomous taxis are finally making their presence felt in America. The concept has advanced beyond its infancy, with approximately 700 robotaxis currently operating in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Austin, Texas. Billions of dollars have been invested in this technology worldwide.
Los Angeles is preparing to debut its own fleet of robotaxis, and the UK is not far behind, as the Law Commission published a report last year paving the way for the introduction of similar services on British streets within the next decade. Whether we are prepared for it or not, these robotic marvels are coming.
In the US, the dominant players in the driverless taxi market are Waymo and Cruise. Operating on a system similar to Uber, customers can download the respective apps, hail their rides from their phones, and pay for their fare through their accounts. Waymo, previously owned by Uber and now a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has been serving Phoenix since 2016 and introduced fully automated rides on its Waymo One service in 2020. Cruise, under the ownership of General Motors, offers a slightly more limited service than Waymo but still facilitates around 10,000 robotaxi trips per week.
However, the development of this remarkable technology has not been without its challenges, tragically including one fatal accident. In 2018, a pedestrian named Elaine Herzberg was struck and killed by a self-driving car in the Phoenix area. The vehicle belonged to Uber, and there was a human safety driver named Rafaela Vasquez present at the time. Vasquez had two phones in her lap, one of which was streaming a talent show. She claimed to only be listening to the show but was distracted by instructions from Uber on her other phone in the moments leading up to the accident.
This incident raised significant questions about who should be held accountable when accidents occur during the transitional phase of self-driving cars, where humans are required to supervise imperfect AI systems. Last month, Vasquez pled guilty to a reduced charge of endangerment and received three years of probation.
Nevertheless, considering the staggering number of deaths occurring on American roads each year, which currently stands at around 40,000, experts like Bryant Walker Smith, a professor at South Carolina University specializing in self-driving technology, argue that autonomous vehicles have immense potential to address the problem of human error and lack of concentration while driving. Smith emphasizes that while automated driving should be approached with caution, human driving should be a greater cause for concern.
Although bumps in the road persist, such as the recent incident in San Francisco where ten driverless Cruise taxis halted simultaneously due to mobile network issues caused by concert attendees, the expansion of robotaxi services continues. San Francisco authorities have given the green light for a substantial increase in the deployment of robotaxis, while Waymo One already covers an impressive 180 square miles of the Phoenix metropolitan area, making it the largest fully autonomous ride-hail service zone worldwide.
Phoenix was an ideal launch location for robotaxis, given its standing as the fifth most populous city in America. With minimal rainfall, no snow or ice, and flat terrain, the city’s well-structured streets provide an optimum environment for testing and implementing this technology.
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