Self-driving taxis like Uber’s will disrupt public transport: Study

Self-driving taxi services – such as those Uber has tried to roll out in the U.S. – could offer fares at a fraction of the cost of those offered by public transport networks today, UBS said in a research note.

UBS researchers said that the autonomous vehicles, known as “robotaxis,” could be introduced in the next few years.

“The shift towards electric and autonomous vehicles, combined with intensifying competition, should reduce the fee charged to passengers by as much as 80 percent compared to today,” the authors of the report said Friday.

“Within the next few years, the technology will be available to make robotaxis a reality. In this new paradigm, owning a private car will cost almost twice as much as using robotaxis.”