I remember when driverless cars first hit the news. I read news articles from across the US about cars that lost connectivity – creating wicked traffic jams that needed human intervention. My favorite was about a robotaxi that got stuck in wet concrete in San Francisco.
Who on earth would get into one of those?
Well… a lot of people, it turns out.
A robotaxi boom is coming —and the ripple effects could be big. Waymo taxis (a Google offering) are currently circling San Francisco and Los Angeles with plans to expand to more cities – including Miami, D.C., London – and yes – San Diego! By this time next year, Waymos will be more widespread.
And San Francisco shows us just how fast opinions can shift: Waymos arrived to plenty of pushback, but now two-thirds of residents support them—and regulators are loosening up too.
Why the change?
- The average family spends 15% of its income on owning a car. Cutting that is very tempting.
- We lose about an hour a day commuting. A smoother, self-driving ride means more time to work—or just breathe.
- Waymos get into ten times fewer serious crashes than human drivers. Fewer accidents mean fewer human tragedies.
- On average, about 25% of downtown land is allotted to parking. Free it up, and cities could gain housing, offices, better sidewalks, and safer streets for walking or biking.
Of course, there are downsides.
- Job losses are real. More than 4 million American driving jobs (taxi, bus and trucks) are at risk.
- If everyone hops into cheap, easy robotaxis, traffic jams could get worse, not better.
- This could trigger “Congestion Taxes”— higher fees during peak traffic times.
- But cities might need those fees to plug the gap from lost parking revenue and fewer traffic violations (robots, annoyingly, follow the rules).
The shape of the self-driving city is still fuzzy. The risks are real, but so is the potential.
Personally, I’m curious to see where it goes—and open to ditching my car if it means being driven around. How about you?
Barbara
Nov. 30,2025
Source: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/11/27/self-driving-cars-will-transform-urban-economies
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