OPINION: Why Driverless Cars Will Never 'Eat' London's Luxury Transport Sector

by Bobby Drewett, founder of Ouno

An astonishing video of a passenger trapped inside a Waymo driverless taxi gone rogue continues to make news headlines around the world. Unsurprisingly, some have thrown their arms up in alarm, calling for autonomous driving tech to be banned. 

US tech entrepreneur Mike Johns was on his way to an Arizona airport when his Waymo taxi abandoned the planned route and started driving in circles around a carpark.

The video — which shows not only Johns unable to take control of the spinning car, but Waymo’s customer service representative also powerless to stop it — has sparked a fresh debate about the risks of driverless vehicles.

But let’s face it, people said the same about the development of the car itself and we’re not going around on horses in the twenty-first century, are we?

Johns himself said of his somewhat terrifying experience of being apparently kidnapped by a car, stating: “As a futurist, I feel like this is where everything is headed so you might as well get there first. It’s just we have glitches that need stitches.”

Surely London, the world’s most congested city, will provide an even bigger challenge to autonomous vehicles than a grid-layout US city.

Naturally, the capital has more taxis than any other city in the UK, accounting for roughly a quarter of all licensed taxis and a third of private hire vehicles nationwide.

Like many European cities, this metropolis of almost nine million people is very old. Its layout is the product of evolution rather than design, with roads forming a chaotic, organic and highly complex pattern. In the warren of one-way streets that characterise an area like Soho in the city’s historic West End, autonomous vehicles face a major challenge.

Bobby Drewett, founder of Ouno

Despite all that, it’s clear that autonomous cars are part of our future. Indeed, they are already here. In California, passengers have already racked up more than eight million driverless miles.

Like all big innovations, these robotaxis will disrupt existing systems as much as supplant – will we still want to own a personal car for instance if one can be summoned as easily as a takeaway from Deliveroo?

In our field, chauffeurs and taxi drivers play a vital, irreplaceable role in the smooth running of every British city. With autonomous cabs expected to be let loose on the UK’s streets in as little as three years, many people fear robotaxis will threaten their livelihoods and put future job prospects at risk.

But ride services – particularly those in the luxury end – will always have a need for human drivers.

What differentiates an impeccable luxury service from an average one is the personal touch.

No amount of tech squeezed into a vehicle is going to find an airport trolley for your luggage, carry your shopping to the door or commiserate with you on the way home from a disappointing football match where your team took a drubbing.

A professional chauffeur doesn’t just navigate roads. They instantly recognise – and, more importantly, can address – any unexpected problems that arise with either the route or the vehicle. On top of that, they can adapt to each passenger’s particular wants and needs, even their changing mood, on the spot. A chauffeur’s role goes far beyond just getting someone from A to B.

The genie is out of the bottle with driverless cars and they certainly serve a purpose (when they’re not driving round in circles, of course).

Yet those looking for luxury in their passenger experience on the road will always value – and demand – the human touch to ensure that every ride matches their expectations.