As someone contemplating the purchase of one, a self-driving car needs to be better than me. That's a higher bar than better than average even if it's not objectively correct.
Because if you do, you are putting your life into the hands of someone who could be a much worse driver than you.
Instead of putting your life in the hands of a terrible taxi driver, would you put it in the hands of software that is on average better than a taxi driver? You are in a taxi, so you don't get to choose to drive it yourself.
Not gp, but I would personally expect a taxi driver to be better than me seeing the amount of time the diver spends on the road. The driver wouldn't be profitable otherwise.
That said, I also mirror gp in that any self-driving car must be at least better than myself for me to trust it. I imagine that's a sentiment shared by many people.
I am not paying the taxi driver money because they are a safer driver.
I am paying them for the convenience, and the ability to not take a car with me.
Also, taxi driver incentives are wrong. A taxi driver, even though they have lots of experience driving, have an incentive to drive very quickly and therefore dangerously.
On the other hand, as a passenger on public transport, taxis and ride shares it only has to be better than (often over worked and over tired) average human drivers.
