How a Million Robotaxies are changing the world, connecting truth to life.

This is Dr. Jim Benison's The Daily Article Podcast for Wednesday, April 24th, 2019.

My first car was a 1966 Dodge Dart.

It was the most misnamed car in automotive history.

It should have been named the Dodge Sloth. However,

it was my teenage ticket to freedom, and I was grateful. As soon as I could, I applied for my

driver's license. All my friends did the same. That was then, this is now. According to the Wall

Street Journal, the percentage of teenagers with the driver's license has tumbled over the last few decades. More young people are delaying the purchase of their first

car if they buy one at all. In 1983, nearly half of 16-year-olds had a driver's license. In

2017, only a quarter did. What explains this phenomenon? Teenagers can call for an Uber or Lyft to shuttle them around.

Social media and video chat allow them to spend time with friends without actually leaving the

house. Then, when they reach their 20s, many are moving to large cities with mass transit, where

owning a car is neither essential nor practical. In addition, American automakers are

jettisoning many of their lower-priced compact and sub-compact cars in favor of sport

utility vehicles and trucks with much bigger profit margins. And schools are either not

offering drivers education or charging as much as $1,000 per course. Yet another factor.

Tesla is promising over a million robo-taxies

on the road by next year. The company hopes to provide transportation at less than 18 cents a mile.

Typical ride-sharing costs are $2 to $3 a mile. Before today, if you had asked me to explain why

young people are putting off driving, I wouldn't have thought of Instagram, SUVs, and robotaxies.

The news often surprises as technology advances, medical science evolves, global issues become local, and people act in unpredictable ways.

However, there's another factor at work today as well, one with enormous relevance for Christians.

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