Self-Driving Ubers are Now Official in Pittsburgh

Uber started out as an answer to those who wanted a more premium type of taxi service by offering highly vetted drivers and top-of-the-line black cars. Pretty soon, one of these two core essentials could be taken out of the equation for good. If you aren’t sitting in one now, then you may be very soon. Instead of an Uber driver, a self-driving Uber may soon be taking you to work. However, for now, to make sure there are no problems, there will be a human supervisor at the steering wheel but not steering.

The Pros and Cons

This new technology from Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center could soon make it possible for Uber drivers to find other work. Seriously though, it probably wasn’t planned that way. Well, let’s hope it wasn’t. It seems that man is constantly in pursuit of ways to take technology to the next level even when doing so makes other areas of life harder- a few hundred years ago, going to the gym would have been laughable. However, being optimistic and looking at all the pros that come with this new technology, we can see that it could make the roads safer by decreasing the amount of incidents due to negligence, road-rage, human error and using cell phones while driving.

Where To Catch A Ride

The first self-driving Ubers are set to start picking up passengers in certain areas of Pittsburgh. However, you can’t just order one yet. Those who use this service the most will be the first selected to try out this new form of automatic transportation.

How It All Began

This technology stems from a startup called Otto, which began altering trucks so they could drive themselves because who wants to drive hundreds or thousands of miles in a truck alone? Uber saw the value in this system and bought Otto for close to 700 million dollars, but that was just a drop in the hat for Uber, which is worth close to 70 million.

Still On Trial

For now, these self-driving Ubers can only go certain routes so the free rides, yes, they are free, won’t be available to those who aren’t going one of these routes. If everything goes according to plan, eventually, you may have to pay to get a ride in a self-driving Uber. Also, passengers will be filmed during their ride, so that the company can see how passengers react to riding in a self-driving car.

These Ubers will still look like the company’s traditional, premium black cars. However, on the outside of the car under UBER it will say: Advanced Technology Center referring to the department of Uber that is making this new technology possible. Don’t worry if you don’t think you will ever be comfortable taking such a ride. You could always have someone go with you.