San Francisco Gets Self-Driving Ubers

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Uber announced today that riders in San Francisco who request an uberX will be matched with a self-driving Uber if one is available. That would be a pretty cool deal as a driver of an uberX, just sit there and collect a check. :cool:
 
so what's the point of having a self driving car if you still need someone sitting in the driver's seat? Is this like Alpha 0.32 edition of self driving cars?
 
Wonder if the uber driver gets less money, kind of like how a security guard at a supermarket isn't making quite as much as the security guards at top secret military installations. They're not doing anything but sitting there.

And people are outfitting their car with self driving technology? Or is this Uber leasing out the cars to others?
 
And of course, Uber is doing it without actually being allowed to:

Here's the argument: The DMV requires that companies obtain special permits to operate "autonomous vehicles," which it defines as "technology that has the capability to drive a vehicle without the active physical control or monitoring by a human operator." Uber claims its self-driving cars still require monitoring from Uber employees — an engineer and a driver ready to step in and take control should something go wrong — and as such do not meet the requirement.

The DMV, for its part, disagrees. "Twenty manufacturers have already obtained permits to test hundreds of cars on California roads," a spokesperson with the department emailed Bloomberg. "Uber should do the same."
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http://sfist.com/2016/12/14/uber_says_fu_to_dmv_rolls_out_self-.php

And this fun tidbit:

Also, as Bloomberg noted after a test ride, "a driver took control of the vehicle more than a dozen times in less than 30 minutes," in several of those instances to avoid getting too close to a pedestrian — a scene that will likely play out many times over the coming months.
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I'm actually a big proponent of self-driving cars, and this would be good if they did it the proper way with permitting to get more data to continue to push this forward. But, IMO, they're still years, if not decades, out from being ready for true autonomy.
 
No effing thank you. I'm already subject to the fleet of self driving Google pods jamming up traffic on local streets in rush our. Not at all in a rush to get into one of these things with an AI driving with less skill than a handicapped chimp.
 
semi-off topic:
as someone who lives in a city without uber (Vancouver), but will be visiting a city WITH uber soon (New Orleans), can someone explain to be exactly why I should use uber instead of taking a taxi?

here in vancouver anyway, I can use several apps to order/pay for my taxi - and i've heard stories from people complaining about the "surge pricing" uber can have. Is it just cheaper? even with surge pricing?

on topic:
this seems cool, halfway to the fully autonomous fleet of cabs whisking us around town!
 
admiralperpetual said:
semi-off topic:
as someone who lives in a city without uber (Vancouver), but will be visiting a city WITH uber soon (New Orleans), can someone explain to be exactly why I should use uber instead of taking a taxi?

here in vancouver anyway, I can use several apps to order/pay for my taxi - and i've heard stories from people complaining about the "surge pricing" uber can have. Is it just cheaper? even with surge pricing?
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It's all pretty specific per city, how good the local cab app is. Try posting/searching in a local reddit subforum for New Orleans or something, IMO.

But from what I've experienced in multiple other US cities, it's cheaper, faster and smoother to use Uber/Lyft instead of cabs.
 
sfsuphysics said:
so what's the point of having a self driving car if you still need someone sitting in the driver's seat? Is this like Alpha 0.32 edition of self driving cars?
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1. it's probably in beta
2. it's probably the law.
 
admiralperpetual said:
semi-off topic:
as someone who lives in a city without uber (Vancouver), but will be visiting a city WITH uber soon (New Orleans), can someone explain to be exactly why I should use uber instead of taking a taxi?

here in vancouver anyway, I can use several apps to order/pay for my taxi - and i've heard stories from people complaining about the "surge pricing" uber can have. Is it just cheaper? even with surge pricing?

on topic:
this seems cool, halfway to the fully autonomous fleet of cabs whisking us around town!
Click to expand...
Cheaper and probably easier to get a ride via UBER. I think my longest wait has been 6 minutes. That said, you may not need a ride beyond getting to/from the airport ifyou're staying downtown. Street cars will get you uptown/downtown and the quarter is walkable.
 
admiralperpetual said:
semi-off topic:
as someone who lives in a city without uber (Vancouver), but will be visiting a city WITH uber soon (New Orleans), can someone explain to be exactly why I should use uber instead of taking a taxi?

here in vancouver anyway, I can use several apps to order/pay for my taxi - and i've heard stories from people complaining about the "surge pricing" uber can have. Is it just cheaper? even with surge pricing?

on topic:
this seems cool, halfway to the fully autonomous fleet of cabs whisking us around town!
Click to expand...

I'm in Stuttgart and we have a taxi app. Good luck getting them to show up at the appointed time. Mine didn't show up for 30 mins.

Your question is about the same as me asking," Why do I need a taxi app, when taxis drive around and there are taxi stops where I can get a taxi."

The answer is, "it's always good to have different options." Course, it's always good to plan different options or extra time, cause you really don't know what works or doesn't work.
 
krotch said:
I'm in Stuttgart and we have a taxi app. Good luck getting them to show up at the appointed time. Mine didn't show up for 30 mins.

Your question is about the same as me asking," Why do I need a taxi app, when taxis drive around and there are taxi stops where I can get a taxi."

The answer is, "it's always good to have different options." Course, it's always good to plan different options or extra time, cause you really don't know what works or doesn't work.
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that's true, I have used a taxi app before and watched as the taxi was driving towards us, then suddenly veered off in opposite direction - then got notification that "ride completed".. while still standing around waited. I guess that happens less with Uber?
 
admiralperpetual said:
that's true, I have used a taxi app before and watched as the taxi was driving towards us, then suddenly veered off in opposite direction - then got notification that "ride completed".. while still standing around waited. I guess that happens less with Uber?
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I have no idea. I'd assume Uber has similiar issues, much like any other "hail a ride" app. I don't even remember the name of the app I used, but apparently it's awesome in Berlin, where it started. Not so much in Stuttgart.
 
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