The Greater London Project
On my recent trip to San Francisco, the most incredible sight was no longer the Golden Gate Bridge or Alcatraz. It was the 300-strong fleet of driverless Waymo taxis, now omnipresent around the city. Riding in one is a mind bogglingly futuristic experience: watching the wheel turn with nobody there to turn it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, defying all assumptions about how a car should work.
Sitting in one, the promise of self-driving cars is immediately clear. They're statistically much safer than traditional vehicles, and though prices currently match Uber's, they'll inevitably drop as technology gets cheaper. What's most remarkable is how few issues they're causing in San Francisco: despite some teething problems (and one headline-grabbing incident involving Waymo's competitor, Cruise), everything is going rather well.
For most of the ride I just sat there, gawping at how seamless the journey was. But I couldn’t help but think: why on earth don't we have these in London yet?
