The idea of achieving fully autonomous taxis is a reality; they are called robotaxis and are already used by many automotive companies in the United States , and one of the cities with the most cars of this type is San Francisco, although their use is limited and, despite the fact that their technology has been improved, they still present some drawbacks.
There is no doubt that large technology companies like Google consider robotaxis to be the cars of the future , which do not require a human to operate them, but the truth is that the two major industries in charge of them invest very large sums of money to develop and put them into operation , and there are many doubts about whether they are really profitable or if they are headed for an announced death.
The technology behind robotaxis is improving, making them less profitable.
Although robotaxis are truly the cars of the future , boasting cutting-edge technology that has been recently improved, the truth is that they are becoming increasingly unprofitable for the companies that operate them . This is how many of these automotive companies have lost money on these trips.
It's important to keep in mind that the primary source of revenue for these vehicles is the sale of the technology they use, not passengers, so whether or not they transport people might not be as crucial to their business. This is why, as time goes on and their use becomes more widespread in other countries, many investors are questioning their financial viability.
While this represents a new way for people to travel , car companies are beginning to see them differently. The reason for this is that investors have spent a lot of money on them to eliminate the cost of drivers, but they are exhibiting flaws that confirm they are not fully autonomous as previously thought.
Robotaxi technology has been improved repeatedly, but it's not enough for them to operate autonomously, as human labor is still considered necessary in some cases . One of the most recent examples of this involves a young woman from San Francisco, USA.
In this case, the young woman recounted her experience aboard one of these cars. She explained that when she got in, her door wasn't properly closed, and she only realized this during the ride. She had to reopen it and close it again to ensure it was secure . Immediately afterward, she said she heard an apology over the loudspeaker for the problem with the door.
So, if someone gets out and leaves the door wide open , the robotaxi isn't capable of closing it on its own , meaning a person would still be needed to do it. These kinds of examples clearly demonstrate that human labor is necessary.
“The economy is fickle. Finding the right business model is going to be very important and promises to be even more difficult than technology.”
Williams Riggs, associate professor at the University of San Francisco School of Management
Over the past two years, major automotive companies have had to make several improvements to autonomous driving , leading them to spend over €100.000 billion on them, a very high sum of money that, although it would be recovered, could take longer than imagined.
According to Sara Nicolás, head of external affairs at Goggo Networks , there are a number of details to keep in mind regarding how technology can achieve profitability in the sector ; for this, she believes it is necessary to have production at scale, something that is not currently available.
“For robotaxis to be more attractive than traditional shared transportation, price is fundamental, and this will be determined by large-scale technology.”
Sara Nicolás, Head of External Affairs at Goggo Networks
The truth is that many experts believe the robotaxi boom could end very soon , potentially leading to the technology's inevitable demise and failure. It's clear that no investor wants to put their money into something that doesn't deliver the expected returns and is economically unprofitable.
