Driverless cars will be used as ‘pay-by-the-hour’ mobile brothels, says academics
Futurists believe that cars will drive themselves without the need for human supervision from 2025, leaving passengers to get on with other things...
TRULY driverless cars may have a bigger impact than first imagined, as a new study claims that pay-by-the-hour hotels and brothels will be replaced by connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs).
Oxford University's Dr Debbie Hopkins and Surrey's Professor Scott Cohen have written a paper on how driverless cars will shape urban tourism.
This includes how the need for roadside hotels will diminish as people travel overnight in 'sleeper' cars.
Further to that, hotels that operate at an hourly rate could also be hit - including brothels that could easily go undetected when on the move.
Besides the hotel industry, the study claims that the price of taxi journeys will significantly drop.
This is because a driver's wages makes up half the cost of trips - and not only will driverless vehicles negate this, but cab drivers will also have to take a financial hit to remain competitive.
Parking may no longer be a problem, as shared driverless cars can continue their journey and privately-owned vehicles can return back to driveways.
The coach tour industry may suffer from the rise of autonomous cars, as tourists can enjoy private trips without the worry of driving themselves around the towns they're visiting.
Most concerning, though, is the increased risk of terror attacks - according to Hopkins and Cohen.
Autonomous cars could potentially be pre-programmed or even hacked to drive into crowds of people if terrorists manage to override the safety systems.
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The study said about driverless cars replacing brothels: "'Hotels-by-the-hour' are likely to be replaced by CAVs, and this will have implications for urban tourism, as sex plays a central role in many tourism experiences.
"While shared CAVs will likely be monitored to deter passengers having sex or using drugs in them, and to prevent violence, such surveillance may be rapidly overcome, disabled or removed.
"Moreover, personal CAVs will likely be immune from such surveillance. Such private CAVs may also be put to commercial use, as it is just a small leap to imagine Amsterdam's Red Light District 'on the move'."