Why do chauffeurs exist in the same era as rideshare apps & Waymo? TL;DR: Consistency, quality and ability.
Nearly every client (and family) that I have the privilege to drive reaches out after having bad experiences with the apps or leaning on family that can't or won't drive them to the airport @ 4am.
As I jokingly say, Santa Cruz has 4 types of drivers:
1: the student (who's busy at school)
2: the surfer (who's catching waves)
3: the retired tech worker (who's not about to drive you)
4: You.
The rest are already working 9-5s.
So that covers the people, but not the failings of the business models/modalities.
Rideshare apps are great for a catch-all, but are the king of inconsistency.
Waymo provides a level of quality and is very consistent but lacks ability. (Example: it cannot drive you over Hwy 17.) And the next wave of Waymos will not be leather-appointed Jaguars, but Hyundai Ioniq 5s.
Chauffeurs aim to provide all 3: a consistent experience, a quality environment and the ability to drive you anywhere the law & your wallet allows.
Will humans as chauffeurs be around 20, 50, 100 years from now? I don't know, but 20 is a certainty, and a blink of the eye in the scale of the human transport transformation.
Thought experiment: If you waved a magic wand and every automaker suddenly started pumping 100% of their output into electric self-driving cars, guess how many years it would take to replace the global fleet?
The answer is about 22 years. 2 billion cars, and only 90 million made per year.
Buckle up out there. 🫡
(This post was brought to you by my brain, no AI/LLMs were harmed in the making of this post.)
My contrarian take: the more Waymo & robotaxis expand, the more truly good/exceptional human drivers will be in demand. AVs will become the public transport of the masses, and private chauffeurs will become the maître d' of fine travel.
No fine dining establishment or hotel has zero humans to greet you or take your order. It'll be a flex to have a human help & guide, even just talk, while the car does all the heavy lifting on the back end, just like autopilot on a plane.
"Oh my gosh, it's so nice to be driven and not have to talk to a human and listen to my own music." (Waymo) This is simply being a private driver 101. You drive, only speak when spoken to, and your client usually has their headphones in or can request any music.
Many in Silicon Valley talk up Waymo, but what they're really telling you is how bad the cheapest rideshare drivers are.
None of these valid concerns are issues for people that pay for just one level above the cheapest option.
Tale as old as time: You do get what you pay for.
PS: I do like to chat with my clients and hear about their trips etc., something that might soon come to a self-driving car near you! "Alexa, follow that car!!"
Most of my clients don't need someone to drive them; this is self-evident.
What people pay for, and at a premium mind you, is not having to bother with all that: truly relaxing and getting to a destination WITHOUT (being the keyword) having to pay attention en route or having to park or pay for parking. They can sleep, work, make calls or just hold the hand of their beloved. Time is money, you've heard, but what greater value is there than relieving stress from what little time you have to spare?