Full self-drive did not meet a room convinced by inevitability; it met one more worried about the last mile between a promising pilot and universal replacement. No won by two to one, and the winning case’s strongest argument was not technological but practical: Britain’s roads are “cluttered and complicated” by local council arrangements.
The floor’s most-respected No voice conceded that the idea might grow organically, but doubted it could conquer every setting. Other No voters stressed the need for “absolute proof”, the continuing demand for human drivers on long journeys and in minibuses, and the possibility that conventional firms would survive unless autonomous operators priced them out.
Yes voters were more resigned than triumphant. Their case was that replacement is bound to arrive eventually, powered by taxi companies’ incentive to remove labour costs and by the promise of greater safety; the sharpest Yes warning was that “our roads are not built or ready for such technology”, while another counted the human cost for more than four hundred thousand taxi and private-hire drivers.
That was the debate’s central misalignment: Yes answered a question about eventual technological direction, while No answered one about whether “all taxis” could really disappear. London’s narrow streets, rural lanes, imperfect American deployments and the particular hazards of British driving all featured; so did darker, more speculative claims about restricted movement, social breakdown and computers making life-or-death choices, alongside a half-joking fear of driverless white vans.
The room sounded less hostile to self-driving cars than sceptical of the word “all”. Its verdict was a refusal to confuse arrival with total replacement.
18 Opinions
First time doing a poll. Really interesting, and I've learned things. Specifying a time is a good tip. I used my phone, I think, and missed the opportunity to suggest things that might have swayed opinion. Tesla's data shows one accident per 5.7M miles with Supervised FSD, one per 2.1M miles when manually driven with Active Safety ON, 860k miles manually driven with Active Safety OFF, and one per 700k miles as a national average. Some caveats: no room here.
The question gives no timeline, so yes I guess eventually, but for many years they will only exist within London and perhaps a handful of other cities, having autonomous taxis driving down narrow lanes deep in the countryside is a long way off
I think there is an inevitability around the introduction of FSD cars. However, this is something that will take a long, long time. I mean, Waymo even has issues in Los Angeles / Dallas in the US.... and half of those streets are just grid layouts. God help the robots learning it's way around central London to the same level of efficiency as a cabbie. But, I don't doubt we'll get there one day
Not sure they would be seen as safe. Self driving taxis could be used, if they were the only vehicle in the area, to prove to everyone that they are safe. We're always wary of something new, particularly where our safety is concerned. Our great grandparents may remember a man walking in front of cars with a red flag. Can't say we are ready for driverless taxis yet. We need absolute proof they can do the job and be safe. That'll take a while.
Yes. It's bound to happen at some point in the future.
My concern is letting a programmed computer make life or death decisions for me. Lorry, out of control hurtling towards me, on my side of the road (left - UK!). A couple of nuns, accompanying a school outing on left pavement. A car with driver and passenger in right hand lane. Computer says only 1 life at major risk in head on collision, lorry driver elevated and probably safer… I’d like to make my own decisions rather than my estate sue the manufacturers!
I don't think they will replace all taxis. There will still be private hire operators acting as individuals, especially for long haul journeys or the need for a taxi minibus. Many people are a long way from trusting the technology and will stick with what they know. A lot will depend on if they price human drivers and conventional taxi firms out of the market.
Majority will be but there will be a niche market for human drivers !!
I used to believe this but the reality is British roads are now so cluttered and complicated with localised council setups it will be very hard ever to do.
I am totally sure they will bring this in and everything will be great until a child is knocked over and killed. Our roads are not built or ready for such technology