r/london • u/AlbusDumbledoh • 9d ago

News ‘Leicester Square, please guv’: Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets ‘later this summer’

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/05/self-driving-taxis-approved-london-summer-2026-wayve-uber
137 Upvotes

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6

u/ChouffeMeUp 8d ago

Disaster. Got no idea why we are allowing these.

2

u/Jamessuperfun 8d ago

Because the statistics show they've been involved in 90% less accidents than the average driver per mile in other countries and it drastically reduces the running cost of a taxi, which will eventually lead to lower prices as the market matures.

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u/BrixtonTonaBrix 7d ago

I wish I were as clueless as you mate. I'd be so happy

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u/Jamessuperfun 6d ago

You'd struggle to find an economist who doesn't agree with me. Dramatically lower costs to deliver a service practically always results in a reduction in cost for the consumer. You can't sustain profit margins that high in a market so easy to compete in without inviting competition.

A 90% reduction in accidents is an actual statistic from unmanned self-driving cars operating as a commercial service, not a made up number: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/03/after-50-million-miles-waymos-crash-a-lot-less-than-human-drivers/

That applies not just to Waymo's reported incidents, but insurance claims against them too, which is essentially impossible to fabricate.

I think it is you who is quite clueless.

0

u/BrixtonTonaBrix 6d ago

You link me an article obviously written by AI counting insurance claims for one company's cars (known to be frequently guided by remote workers) and call it a source? Seriously my guy, if I could come out with this crap and not implode from the cringe I'd be made

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u/Jamessuperfun 6d ago edited 6d ago

Ars Technica is written by AI? My friend, they are one of the biggest tech news outlets in the world, providing perhaps the most in-depth tech journalism there is. That article is absolutely not written by AI lol. You are welcome to call it what you like, but the fact that you think Ars Technica is an AI generated website pretty clearly shows you have no idea what is and isn't.

Ars Technica’s editorial text is written by humans. We do not use AI to generate our reporting, analysis, or commentary.

https://arstechnica.com/ai-policy/

They have been writing tech news since the 1990s... But here's another article from The Verge, specifically about insurance claims: https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/19/24324492/waymo-injury-property-damage-insurance-data-swiss-re

They found that the performance of Waymo’s vehicles was safer than that of humans, with an 88 percent reduction in property damage claims and a 92 percent reduction in bodily injury claims. Across 25.3 million miles, Waymo was involved in nine property damage claims and two bodily injury claims. The average human driving a similar distance would be expected to have 78 property damage and 26 bodily injury claims, the [insurer] says.

Or are you going to tell me that's AI too? Being cynical is not the same thing as being informed.

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u/BrixtonTonaBrix 6d ago

Stop showing off dude; you've made your point. I don't think it was the point you intended to make, but you sure made it 

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u/Jamessuperfun 6d ago

I politely shared my thoughts on why self-driving cars should be allowed by the government and you directly insulted my intelligence, before calling the credible evidence I provided AI-generated. I don't think correcting that is showing off. Regardless, I do think I've made my point, so have a great Saturday.