[dazc]

The non-technical answer is that people do not care so long as it's safer and less unpleasant than the current alternative.

My last taxi ride involved jumping red lights and speeding through residential streets at 60mph because, I assume, it was early morning and the driver had learned from experience that he could get away with driving like this.

The previous experience to this was a lecture about a certain religious ideology and how I should spend the next two weeks reading up about it.

[gdbsjjdn]

Remember that the robotaxi industry is currently doing everything they can to look good. They are being watched like hawks. Look at how everyone was horny for Uber rides, until Uber needed to actually make money so they jacked up fares, cut driver pay and let anyone with a piece of shit car join. Or how Google search has been enshittified.

In 10 years when robotaxi companies are short on cash and trying to IPO they will absolutely start speeding. They'll lock the doors and give you a paid presentation about Scientology during your ride. "Accidentally" drive you to a competing store that paid for sponsored traffic, instead of the .

[Gareth321]

Then customers choose a self-driving taxi which doesn't try to kill them. People aren't forced to take the murder taxis.

[gruez]

>In 10 years when robotaxi companies are short on cash and trying to IPO they will absolutely start speeding

Openly commit crimes when everything's being recorded and subject to discovery? What could possibly go wrong?

>They'll lock the doors and give you a paid presentation about Scientology during your ride.

Sounds like a good excuse for whoever's trapped to break open the side windows because he "felt he was in danger because of claustrophobia" or whatever. More seriously though, I don't see anything wrong with mandatory ads as long as it's disclosed ahead of time.

> "Accidentally" drive you to a competing store that paid for sponsored traffic, instead of the .

By your own admission "Google search has been enshittified", yet when was the last time google "accidentally" sent you to the competitor's site on the search results page?

[beeflet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlCrcMeVZHs

[BizyDev]

Uh, every Google search already shows me sponsored links to competitors’ sites at the top of the results.

What would you say if in 5 years with Waymo, you want to go to Burger King but before taking you there, it suggests ‘hey, why don’t you go to this McDonald’s instead?’ At first you’d get a discount on your ride if you accept the suggestion, and then once everyone gets used to it, no more discounts and everyone ends up paying more than human taxis cost today.

[madaxe_again]

Over the years, I’ve had four human driven taxis crash, and two taxi drivers rob me.

[scrollop]

Never heard of those two occurrences happening for a taxi customer, ever.

Perhaps you live in a location that lends itself to such events...

[amscanne]

Before there was an alternative used to take taxis in Toronto occasionally, and the common refrain was that the card machine was broken. And sometimes no change was available. These kinds of soft scams were common.

So it’s not a hold-up, but definitely a form of robbery.

[madaxe_again]

Crashes: New York, Istanbul, SW UK, Cairo.

Robbed: Bishkek, Astrakhan. Former nicked my SLR at a gas stop, I should have been more attentive, but wasn’t expecting him to loot my luggage. Latter delivered me to his buddies who threatened violence unless I turfed over every penny I had. Joke was on them as they thought I was a loaded oil exec when I was actually just a broke backpacker.

I’ve also had the old shake-down fare in Ljubljana, Bucharest, and Riga, off the top of my head - but I don’t count that as robbery, just assholes.

[monetus]

Can I ask what time periods?

I have no personal experience of Kyrgyzstan or Russia, but my hunch would be that the noughts were riddled with taxi drivers like you say, while that has slightly improved over time? I mean, perestroika is known for having those problems, wasn't it? Correct me if I am wrong please anybody, thank you.

Also, kudos on your travel.

[madaxe_again]

Crashes, various points over the last few decades. Three fender benders but the guy in Istanbul managed a proper one at speed, early hours of the morning and going too fast in the rain - thankfully nobody hurt but his car was trashed.

Robberies, both 2012, on the same trip.

And yes, corruption still rules the roost in a lot of old eastern bloc countries, from the government to the cops to the babushka driving the bus - it will take a long while for the mindset that the USSR inculcated to dissipate - that is, that the only way to get ahead in life is to lie, cheat, and steal. 2012 was my first time east of the Urals, and these days I know far better how to deal with it than back then, when I was still wet behind the ears.

[llbbdd]

If that happened to me in America I would count it as robbery.

[brianwawok]

Chicago taxis were pretty bad. Had taxis driven by the guy not in the card. Broken seat belts. Mega speeding. It was terrible.

[igor47]

I was in a Chicago taxi where the driver was basically passing out but (I think) chewing qat to keep awake

[dazc]

Well, you can't say that again.