You might scoff at this, but it's happening - driverless taxis will soon be a reality in less than 15 years.
A study by the Berkeley Lab has found that we're rapidly approaching a point in both technology and greenhouse emissions where it's not only a reality, but a necessity.
The use of autonomous taxis over, say, trains or even normal taxis greatly reduces harmful greenhouse emissions.
What's more, driverless cars are proving to be a more safe option than human-driven cars, with the Google self-driven car completing thousands of miles without a single accident.
It's understood driverless cars will be available to the public by 2020, with many states in the US drafting legislation that allows for their use on public roads.
As it stands now, adding autonomous technology costs approximately $150,000 to the value of any car.
However, when the technology becomes readily available and can be easily copied, that price is expected to fall in.
In fact, researchers at the Berkeley Lab believe that, eventually, driverless cars will become cheaper than those with a taxi driver.
The real question is, however, how we're going to find out if they're busy or not tonight and if they'll let us stop for chips.
Via Berkeley Lab
