It wasn’t so long ago that autonomous buses and shuttles felt like part of the near-term future. But delays in technology and COVID-19 have put the brakes on that prediction, and now Wired says autonomous transit will have to get past public nerves and strong opposition by unions to happen.
We’ve known for awhile that riders would be nervous about trips on driverless buses, but hiccups in testing have exacerbated that. And unions that represent transit workers have stepped up their efforts to slow or stop pilot programs, including showing up to protest in-person. All of this, the site says, may greatly delay a driverless future.