Is the future of driverless cars the death of the Chauffeur Industry?
Driverless cars or Automated vehicles (AVs) or autonomous cars are certainly the future of road or even air transport and they already navigate Australian roads and many other places in the world. It's not the question of whether they should be legalised or not as sooner or later we will shift towards driver less cars because we are so inclined towards trusting technology over human input. The big question is what happens to the Commercial passenger industry specially Chauffeur industry as a thought of a luxury driverless car without a professional Chauffeur is questionable.
There is a big difference in a driver less car for personal use and a Chauffeur driven driver less car. When we buy autonomous vehicles for personal use we will be made familiar with the running of the car, do and don'ts, after being in the car for a while we get used to it and know what to do in case of emergencies or breakdowns or when to take over as a driver and when to let the car do self driving. It is near to impossible to get your head around the working of a luxury Chauffeur driven car when you are getting in it for the first time.
Chauffeur industry serves the purpose of providing luxury Chauffeur driven experience. It's a combination of a high end luxury car and a professional Chauffeur driving it. It is not practical to imagine a journey in a Chauffeur driven car without a professional Chauffeur at the steering wheel. We always need the drivers expertise to make the journey run smoother, navigate the back streets to dodge traffic, act as a guide during winery or other tours. Chauffeur driven industry is mainly used for airport transfers. We always need the Chauffeur to meet and greet the guests on arrival at the airport as they are the first point of contact for people arriving first time in a foreign country and needing help in navigating their way around the airport. Driverless cars will fail to replace this.
Chauffeurs are big part of the luxury day tours for tourists as well as corporate day tours for businesses needing to send their corporate staff to meetings one after the other. A Chauffeur not just drives the vehicle but also acts as a local guide for the tourists visiting the city. They are the best source of information for local attractions, food, any festivals and also know the peak and off peak times of traffic. Automated vehicles will have difficulty achieving any of the above.
A wedding is incomplete without a Chauffeur driven transfer from a wedding Chauffeur hire company. It is the Chauffeur's job to provide a wedding car in a immaculate condition decorated with wedding ribbons. He himself must be in a business suit and looks after every major and minor detail to organise the best wedding transfer. A driverless car will not be a very convenient option for a wedding car.
People who go out for dinners or nights outs often use a Chauffeur driven service so they can enjoy a drink or two of alcohol. Drink driving is illegal in almost every country of the world and professional Chauffeurs are the best way to best alternative to driving on your won if you are going to enjoy a drink. A driverless car may need to be controlled manually during the course of the journey in case of any emergency and it will be risking the lifes on the road if the driver behind the steering wheel is drunk.
It is still a big question on whether these kind of cars whouks be made fully automated or remain under some manual control or human control. These changes in the technology of cars moving towards automation will definitely impact the lifes of many people working in the transport industry but it will not be correct to say that it will lead to the death of the Chauffeur Industry.
All our chauffeured vehicles are financed by Realloans Australia and insured thorugh RACV
