Uber Unleashes Self-Driving Fleet, Claims Autonomous Vehicles Will Create More Jobs

Uber’s plan to replace human drivers with machines has been known for a while, which makes their plans to release a fleet of self-driving vehicles in a few weeks, not that surprising. The company also claims that instead of cutting jobs, the innovation will actually lead to even more jobs over time.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, Uber will be releasing Ford and Volvo cars that are completely autonomous in the streets of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in several weeks. This will be the first of the upcoming army of machine-driven vehicles that the cab hailing service will be unleashing on the world and will likely also serve as a test bed to see how society responds to cars that are driving entirely on their own.

There’s no need to worry too much, however, as Uber drivers will still be behind the wheel just in case something happens and they need to take over. Then again, as great as the assurance is for passengers, many would likely see the presence of the humans behind the wheel as a slap in their faces.

It’s well known that Uber and all other cab hailing companies right now are itching to replace human drivers down the road, which threatens the livelihood of thousands of existing workers. However, speaking to the Business Insider, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says that their approach will actually create more jobs for drivers.

While admitting that the overall percentage of human drivers will absolutely go down, Kalanick also pointed out that in figures, the numbers go up. Citing San Francisco as an example, where Uber currently has about 30,000 active drivers, Kalanick stressed that the numbers could go up 50,000 to 100,000 drivers once the number of Uber cars reach one million in the area.

"So I don't think the number of human drivers will go down anytime soon,” Kalanick said. “In fact, I think in an autonomous world, it goes up. In absolute figures. Of course, in percentage it's down."