Uber and Lyft drivers say Waymo’s robotaxis are hurting their earnings in Phoenix and LA

Uber and Lyft drivers in Phoenix and Los Angeles said robotaxis had made their gigs even more competitive.

Some Uber and Lyft drivers have said the driverless taxis operating in their markets are driving down their earnings.

Jason D., a 50-year-old Uber driver in Phoenix, told B-17 it had become harder to make money in recent years because of increased competition with other drivers, lower fares, fewer tips from riders, and higher operating costs. Now, he said, the rollout of Waymo One robotaxis has made this problem even worse.

“Driverless taxis are flooding an already competitive Phoenix market and taking money from human drivers,” said Jason, who drives full time and asked that his last name not be included for fear of professional repercussions.

Several companies are competing for a share of the US robotaxi market. But Waymo One, Alphabet’s autonomous taxi service, announced in August that it was providing more than 100,000 paid rides weekly in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Waymo One also plans to expand to Atlanta and Austin early next year and is set to be facilitated through the Uber app. While the robotaxi industry could be slowed by regulatory hurdles and safety concerns, ride-hailing experts previously told B-17 that growing adoption would probably hurt Uber and Lyft drivers’ earnings in the years to come. Some drivers told B-17 this was already happening.

To be sure, it’s unclear how much robotaxis such as Waymo One’s are currently impacting drivers’ earnings. Carl Benedikt Frey, a professor of AI and work at the Oxford Internet Institute, previously told B-17 there was little evidence that the vehicles had had a significant impact on Uber and Lyft drivers’ earnings so far. But he added that as more robotaxis hit the road and fare prices come down, he’d expect drivers’ income to take a hit.

“As the technology gets better and cheaper, drivers will feel it in their wallets,” Frey said. “We’ve seen this movie before: When Uber first showed up, it reduced traditional taxi drivers’ earnings by about 10%.”

Waymo and Uber didn’t respond to requests for comment from B-17. In February, an Uber spokesperson told B-17 the company hadn’t seen any significant impacts on drivers’ earnings in Phoenix and Las Vegas, the two cities where Uber had autonomous-vehicle partnerships at the time.

A Lyft spokesperson didn’t respond to a question from B-17 about the impacts driverless taxis could have on ride-hailing drivers but said the company’s goal was to build a hybrid network of human drivers and autonomous vehicles. Lyft has also partnered with Mobileye to roll out autonomous vehicles on the Lyft network.

Restrictions on robotaxis could help reduce competition

John, a 43-year-old Uber and Lyft driver in Phoenix, said he thought Waymo One’s robotaxis had hurt his earnings. He sometimes asks his passengers about their experiences using driverless taxis to get a better understanding of his competition.

He said Waymo One autonomous vehicles competed with him for rides and were sometimes cheaper than Uber and Lyft trips, which he thought could deter passengers from using traditional ride-hailing services. John’s identity is known to B-17 but has been withheld over his fear of professional repercussions.

Comparing the costs of Waymo One with those of Uber or Lyft is difficult because prices vary by market, length of trip, promotional offers the passenger may have, and whether the client tips a human driver.

There’s some relief for human drivers: Restrictions on where robotaxis can drive could help limit the impact on ride-hailing drivers.

Brad, a full-time Uber driver in Los Angeles, said he didn’t feel too threatened by Waymo One robotaxis in the city because they primarily offer shorter rides that he doesn’t consider to be very profitable.

“I stopped picking up local rides a long time ago,” said Brad, whose identity is known to B-17 but has been withheld because of his fear of professional repercussions.

He added that the most profitable rides tended to be airport trips — specifically when he picks up passengers from their terminals — and robotaxis aren’t allowed at the airport. Waymo One airport trips are still restricted in Los Angeles and San Francisco but are available in Phoenix.

Nicole Moore, a part-time Lyft driver who’s also the president of the driver advocacy group Rideshare Drivers United, previously told B-17 that trips to and from airports were many drivers’ “bread and butter.” She said competition from robotaxis for these rides would be a concerning development for drivers.

A key factor in the success of robotaxis could be whether riders feel comfortable without a human driver. In Phoenix, Jason said, robotaxis are sometimes a “hazard on the road.”

“They often cut me off,” he said. “I have seen them signal left and right before making a sudden turn across multiple lanes of traffic.”

In June, Waymo One recalled 672 of its driverless taxis after one hit a utility pole in Phoenix — the company said there were no passengers in the vehicle.

Jason said some riders he’d spoken with were comfortable with driverless cars or even thought they could be safer than those driven by humans. But he’s firm in his stance.

“I am fundamentally opposed to driverless rideshare because I do believe my income is being impacted,” he said.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply