Uber has long planned to one day replace its vast workforce of drivers with self-driving vehicles, lowering fares and increasing profits.
Ride-hailing drivers picket May 8 near Los Angeles International Airport demanding higher wages.
The company has adjusted its thinking about the role drivers will play in the self-driving future. Should self-driving vehicles flood the streets, Uber now believes it may always need some humans behind the wheel to help meet demand. But profitability will remain a challenge so long as it continues to split the fare from every ride with contractors while also pouring money into incentives for drivers and discounts for riders — tactics Uber relies on to fend off competition.
To that end, Uber poured $457 million into research and development efforts for their advanced technology products in 2018, which include its self-driving cars and flying cars. “In the aftermath [of the crash], Uber really had all the signs that they were cutting corners and were trying to push it to market faster than it should be going,” said Paul Sagawa, an analyst at SSR. “The investigation around that fatality in Phoenix reveals a company whose technology is well behind, years behind Google’s in terms of its ability.”
“An established base of users does not exist, and for the foreseeable future the aircraft will be piloted for a variety of reasons,” Shaheen said. “Even if there is overwhelming demand for air taxi services, in the early years the market will be limited by the number of available pilots, available skyport infrastructure, and the cost of providing a piloted service.”
“For the Elevate team, it is the absolute No. 1 priority,” Harford said in 2018. “For me as COO, it’s not the No. 1 priority. I’m more focused on the operating businesses we’re in today.”
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