One minute the industry is concerned about whether Uber drivers have proper insurance and the next minute insurers want to know how self-driving cars will change the business. Now for the best (or worst) of both worlds, we have self-driving Uber cabs.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has taken to the national media to talk about self-driving, or robotic, Uber cabs, and he has found an ally in Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.
At a joint press conference with Uber, Ducey signed an executive calling for pilot programs to test self-driving cars in Arizona. Kalanick has said that the cost of cabs will go way down when you are able to eliminate the driver.
Other states that allow testing of self-driving cars have required that drivers be present in the cars during testing. Ducey’s directive allowing cars to be operated without an onboard driver takes another big step on the inevitable journey.
The executive order reads:
“Pilot programs will be enabled on campuses of select universities in partnership with entities that are developing technology for self-driving vehicles, whereby an operator with a valid driver’s license may direct a vehicle’s movement, regardless of whether the operator is physically present in the vehicle or is providing direction remotely while the vehicle is operating in self-driving mode.”
There are many other provisions in the order, or course, but the day when cars and by extension taxis will drive themselves has taken a huge step forward.
The order contains this language concerning insurance: “The vehicle owner shall submit proof of financial responsibility, in an amount and on a form established by the Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation.”
