Self driving cars — a job killer of unprecedented levels
The focus of the self-driving, driverless, or autonomous car and its impact typically surrounds the consumers’ acceptance of the concept and when, how and yes, if the adoption curve will ever trend upwards, let alone take on the proverbial hockey stick curve upwards. As we’ve mentioned here in Thematic Signals many times recently, we’ve ruled out the “if” in this equation and see the tipping point for the self-driving car is near and it’s only a matter of time now before we see the emergence of autonomous cars in full force on the road.
So, we’re now turning to the “how” and that is becoming clearer as well. What we are referring to is the UBER trial in Pittsburgh and Ford focusing on building a fleet of driver-less cars. What this tells us, is that the first cars to be replaced by autonomous ones won’t be in our own garages, but the ones owned by companies and municipalities that can justify the increased cost with a virtually instant return on investment — where the rubber meets the road if you will.
What this article in CNBC brings to light is where the real evolution is going to happen, and that’s the professional driver: the truck, bus, and cab drivers. And so while the markets have been focused on the technology side of this Disruptive Technology thematic (the car manufacturers, technology providers, services, etc.) and even the impact on insurance companies, where we will see a dramatic impact will with the displaced workers that no longer have a transferable skill — driving — which brings in our Tooling and ReTooling thematic in a big, big way.
As the saying goes, the day before Henry Ford launched the Model T, there was a carriage business owner with 100 horses and buggies. Ouch.
Driverless car technology is expected to reduce labor costs, fuel costs and accidents, but it will also be a complete disaster for the millions of Americans who work as long-haul truckers, bus drivers or cab drivers. Truck driving alone is the most common job across vast swathes of the United States, and they could all be unemployed within years. Almost 3 percent of all working American are drivers of some sort — more than 2 percent are truck drivers, 0.4 percent are bus drivers and 0.3 percent are cabbies and other types of drivers, according to Census Bureau occupational data. But those jobs aren’t evenly distributed across the country, and some places are going to get slammed by the automation of jobs more than others.
Source: Driverless cars will kill the most jobs in select US states
