Uber, frightened by rivals' robotaxis, sides with driver unions
Prepared by Sintelligent with the help of SI. Publication time restored from the build log. . Updated: .
Even former enemies, the platform and the unions, have now united against self-driving cars. Quotas for humans behind the wheel may delay the transition by years but are unlikely to stop it; it would be more honest to help drivers retrain than to freeze the technology.
According to the Financial Times, Uber, which spent years fighting unions, is now working with them to slow self-driving cars: the company backed a proposal in New Jersey under which at least 85% of robotaxi rides must have a human behind the wheel, and a bill to ban self-driving cars in Washington. At the same time, the Atlanta drivers' union is seeking a $0.5-1 fee on each robotaxi ride for a driver retraining fund. Uber's internal analysis acknowledges that utilization and hourly earnings of drivers in San Francisco and Los Angeles are already falling. The backdrop is competition with Waymo, which increasingly operates without the Uber platform.
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