Mar 07, 2018

Question of the Day: How much cheaper are autonomous robo-taxis to operate compared to private cars (in dollars saved annually)?

Answer: $5,000

Cost for private car today = $1.20 per mile

Cost for future robo-taxi = $0.70 per mile

Typical family drives 10,000 miles X $0.50/mile cost savings = $5,000 

Questions:

  • What are the costs you/your family incurs to own a car today? Be sure to create as complete a list as possible. 
  • What are the factors that lead to such a large cost savings using a robo-taxi (in future) instead of owning your own private car? 
    • What are the costs that disappear or are greatly reduced if there is a shift to a robo-taxi? 
  • Do you think your generation will choose not to buy cars given this trend toward ride-hailing and robo-taxis?  Explain. 
  • List careers that you think could be impacted by autonomous vehicles. 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from Economist):

The combination of autonomy and ride-hailing, together with a switch to electric vehicles, seems likely to undermine the logic of car ownership for many people. Ride-hailing services in the rich world currently cost around $2.50 per mile, compared with about $1.20 per mile to own and operate a private car (see chart). But the driver accounts for about 60% of the cost of ride-hailing. UBS, an investment bank, reckons that automation, competition and electrification (which makes cars more expensive to buy but much cheaper to run) will cut the cost of ride-hailing by 70%, to about $0.70 per mile. So a typical Western household driving 10,000 miles a year could ditch its car, use robotaxis and save $5,000 a year. 

-----------------

How does it feel to drive for Uber? Try this simulation and find out (spoiler alert: it's hard work!)

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

author image More by Tim right solid arrow
Mail Icon

Subscribe to the blog

Join the more than 12,000 teachers who get the NGPF daily blog delivered to their inbox: