If I owned a fleet of driverless cars for hire, I would park the car until it is needed. That means a series of parking lots scattered throughout the coverage area. I’d have an attendant at some of them (but not all!) who would recharge them, clean them out, repair them - as needed.
So, No! I would NOT have any cars “cruising”. That’s the old way and it relies on a driver being “hailed”.
But it would require someone to have negotiated parking rights, but, in general, parking lots would have fewer cars in them.
But there may be another unintended consequence - I wonder if more car pooling would result. Instead of a single occupant, the computer could match destinations - especially during rush hour = less cars traveling the same direction. Needless to say, this would be an option on the app and the option would include a reduced fare!
I remember my father commuting to NYC in the 1950’s who had a group that picked up the same cab at the same place and time every day. They started out as strangers - ended up as friends.
Overall it might not help congestion, but it would help parking issues - AND - I am wondering if it would reduce rush hour traffic, by limiting the number of cars on the road.
A parking lot is an added expense, and a very high one in a large city like NY. They could use existing lots, but those are still high cost. In the mid 70s I looked at a job in Manhattan. The cost of a parking spot was the same as an apartment in most other places. It may well be less expensive to keep them on the road. When they need charging, that is when they should be parked.
Another reason to keep cruising is the random nature of fare location. Unless there is a Big Game at the arena, riders will be at random locations. Small, well attended venues like weddings will need lots of taxis, but predicting them is impossible for the taxi service.
Perhaps part of the event planning is informing the car company of the event and impending demand? I can see deals as incentive. Need 5 cars? Pay for 4 and 5th is free…
Today we have a high ratio mix taxi to personal cars. Stop having so many personal cars and they are removed from the streets leaving room for more taxis that are likely to be more efficient at usage. I can see software and cameras with hailing recognition. No app, no problem, Hail as you have before and a car will stop.
Maybe, but how does the family of the bride or groom know who needs a ride for hire? They could ask, but a lot of people haven’t been to the venue much and wouldn’t know that a taxi is the smart move. That happened to us two weeks ago in Philadelphia. We knew the church as downtown, but didn’t understand how awful traffic was until we got there. We left the cars about a mile and a half away where my daughter was staying and got two Ubers. Well, one Uber and one Lyft. Coupons, ya know.
It’s on the RSVP.
I want the duck and an Uber thank you.
I parked outside the city and took a cab to a ball game once. What a difference!
Dropped off steps away from our gate. Walk out after the game and hop into a car right at the stadium exit. They even had taxi lanes so we were whisked out of there in record time.