Robotaxis are multiplying across the US, and as they do, a not-so-flattering pattern is riding shotgun. Not only do robotaxi companies themselves put a significant strain on public resources, they’re training the public to act just as entitled as they are.
As a recent article by Bloomberg points out, riders hopping into driverless cabs from Waymo, Tesla, and Zoox are treating driverless trips as a license to unwind.
With no human behind the wheel, riders feel like they have no social contract to follow. As a result, they’re turning robotaxis into trash cans, leaving behind spilled drinks, food scraps, and in some cases, bodily fluids like vomit for the next unlucky sap.
Granted, it’s probably easier said than done to clean a mess from a robocab once it’s been made: as one unfortunate Waymo rider discovered in May, the vehicles will sometimes speed off within seconds of dropping you off, even if you have bags in the trunk.
