THE FUTURE IS HERE

On a walk with Max one recent evening, I noticed my neighbors boarding a driverless cab by Waymo. Online I learned that the day before, on Thursday, August 10th, after six hours of deliberations, California regulators gave approval to two robotaxi companies – Cruise and Waymo, to operate their driverless cars 24/7 across all of San Francisco. Of course there were some who disagreed with the decision. That brought to mind events which happened at the end of the nineteenth century, when the first American cars were built, with many non-believers that the new invention would replace horses and carriages.

During an interview on November 17, 1895, Thomas A. Edison said, “Talking of horseless carriage suggests to my mind that the horse is doomed. The bicycle, which, 10 years ago, was a curiosity, is now a necessity. It is found everywhere. Ten years from now you will be able to buy a horseless vehicle for what you would pay today for a wagon and a pair of horses. The money spent in the keep of the horse will be saved and the danger to life will be much reduced.” These words are as current today as almost 128 years ago.

You can read more about robotaxis in the article which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, August 13, 2023 titled, “Questions remain on robotaxis’ viability”. In spite of naysayers, we are privileged to live in the part of the future. However, horse and carriage transport did not disappear completely. When we visited New York in 2016, we encountered them near Central Park as part of the tourist attractions, as you can see from these three photos.

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