Uber Freight?! What is this madness?!?!

"Eventually, Uber will get rid of the drivers and turn a huge profit. Earlier this month, Uber announced it would begin allowing customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from their phones, indicating at least part of the company’s long-term business plan. Uber also acquired self-driving car company Otto for $300 million, showing its eagerness to advance its driverless car technology."
~gizmodo

Uber is bleeding money, why, drivers. Solution, driverless, with an attendant to step in if needed.

 

I doubt it. They've already killed the Otto name. They just bought it for the tech and now they're involved in a lawsuit with Alphabet over that. Its unlikely that'll be going anywhere soon

 

Link----> As Uber’s legal battle with Waymo rages on, its self-driving trucks are nowhere to be found

 

Anyone who really thought Otto the beer truck was driverless got fooled. There were several people monitoring that thing with laptops in chase cars. Said right in their press release "with minimal input". That driverless truck had more drivers than any truck ever. If you read the press releases, that platooning experiment awhile back in Europe was conducted similarly. Haven't been any driverless trucks, and I think I'll be retired long before there is. I know I'm getting rather tired of all these geek companies trying to steal our industry for no good reason. Every time they make an announcement about making our industry safer, they don't just imply that they can make it safer, but that we aren't trying to ourselves. I read awhile back about all the infrastructure improvements that will be needed, like dedicated truck lanes, heated roadways, etc. Wow, we would be safer than a driverless truck if we had all that assisting us. And we would be cheaper than the 400k price tag those are expected to come with. Add in the tax increases needed for those infrastructure improvements, and they'll never be profitable for Uber or anyone else.

 

Told my lawyer last week about driverless trucks.
His face lit up like a Christmas tree. He never heard of them.
He's licking his chops now waiting to get in on
One of these lawsuits the first chance he gets.

In his words, all he needs is one to screw up and
He's set for life.

 

WOW; I forgot all about this cheap ### place. I got a reality check back in 2011 trying to pull for them in a box truck. My mouth still hurts!

 

Technology will be the death of society eventually. Unemployment rates will keep growing as long as technology keeps replacing humans. Look at what happened in the automobile manufacturing industry and many others.

 

I'm live on the app now. Limited freight in my area (NE Iowa), and rates are meh.. Just click and book option. No need to call in or anything. Lots of people will jump on this for that feature alone.

 

The society will have to be rearranged eventually or else those who will own the means of production will have to feel uneasy about the poor and destitute. History taught us many lessons on the subject.