Taxi Drivers, Your Job Has an Expiration Date

It may take 5, 10, or in some cases 20 years, but the taxi driver’s job is destined to disappear. By 2025 most major cities in Europe, Asia and North America will be served by autonomous vehicles that will take the traditional role of taxis.

Autonomous ride-sharing and ride-hailing services are the future for Uber and Lyft, too. Both companies are actively investing millions of dollars, through partnerships with technology companies, car manufacturers, and academic institutions, to develop and launch driverless taxi services in five years. Trials and pilot programs –with human drivers as a backup– are already underway. The arrival of driverless vehicles is the end game for the ride-sharing companies, as they will no longer need to deal with the burden of having to pay drivers, nor face strikes and protests over fares and terms of employment.

While autonomous buses could be an interesting solution for cities, the same way that driverless metro trains are already operating in many places and becoming the new standard, I believe the real creative disruption of mobility will come in the form of driverless taxis and car sharing services.