Using Robo-Taxis In 2030 Could Be More Environment Friendly And Cheaper

Using driver-less electric taxis 15 years later would auger well for both the environment and the pocket, researchers at the Berkeley Lab claim.

The researchers claimed that using autonomous electric taxis would cut greenhouse gas emissions per mile by 63 to 82 percent compared to a hybrid vehicle driven privately, which would most certainly be more environment friendly than a gasoline vehicle. If such vehicles were to cover average distances that present-day taxis did, around 40,000 to 70,000 miles per year, they could be cheaper, without considering the added cost of a driver.

Interestingly, the added green benefit over hybrid cars stems from electric taxis being driverless, which means greater leverage in sending the right-sized cars depending on the number of passengers.

"Most trips in the U.S. are taken singly, meaning one- or two-seat cars would satisfy most trips. That gives us a factor of two savings, since smaller vehicles means reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions," said Jeffery Greenblatt, one of the researchers.

Researchers also factored in greener electric grids which are expected to be fed by renewable sources of energy by 2030. They also mentioned other advantages that autonomous cars offered, including driving closer to each other which can cut wind resistance.

"These are all incremental, but they do add up. However, we didn't even include these effects in our baseline results, and we still get huge savings without them," Greenblatt said.