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By Simon Kalipciyan, Chief Operating Officer, Cars on Demand
A young couple in the back of a chauffeured car booked via an app
On February 4, 2026, Dr. Mauricio Peña, Chief Safety Officer at Waymo, delivered compelling testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about the future of autonomous vehicles. As someone who has spent over three decades building Australia’s premier chauffeur service, I found his testimony both fascinating and concerning for the future of our industry.
Let me share my perspective on what this means for premium transport in Australia and why the human element in chauffeur services remains irreplaceable.
Dr. Peña’s testimony painted an impressive picture of autonomous vehicle progress. Waymo now operates across six major U.S. metro areas, provides over 400,000 rides weekly, and has completed nearly 200 million fully autonomous miles. These aren’t theoretical statistics — they represent real people getting to real destinations without anyone behind the wheel.
The safety data is equally striking. According to their peer-reviewed research, the Waymo Driver demonstrates 10x fewer serious injury crashes and 12x fewer injury-causing crashes involving pedestrians compared to human drivers. Swiss Re’s analysis of their first 25 million autonomous miles showed an 88% reduction in property damage claims and a 92% reduction in bodily injury claims.
As someone responsible for maintaining Cars on Demand’s 99.99% on-time reliability record across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Cairns, these numbers demand attention.
Dr. Peña’s testimony included a stark warning that caught my attention immediately:
“The United States is locked in a global race with Chinese AV companies for the future of autonomous driving, a trillion-dollar industry comparable in strategic importance to flight and space travel.”
This isn’t just about transportation technology — it’s about who sets the global standards for the next generation of mobility. The leading Chinese AV startups have already tested on U.S. roads and are now rapidly expanding into Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Waymo’s call for federal legislation to establish a national AV framework isn’t just corporate lobbying; it’s a strategic imperative to maintain American technological leadership.
For Australia, this raises critical questions: Will we adopt American safety standards, Chinese protocols, or develop our own framework? And more importantly, are we prepared for the inevitable arrival of autonomous vehicles on Australian roads?
Here’s where my decades of experience in premium transport come into sharp focus. While I respect Waymo’s technological achievements, their testimony inadvertently highlights everything that makes human-driven premium chauffeur services irreplaceable.
Dr. Peña mentions that Waymo serves “families bringing newborns home from the hospital” — but can an autonomous vehicle provide the reassurance and assistance that a trained professional driver offers during such a milestone moment?
At Cars on Demand, our meet and greet service means a professionally trained driver who:
An algorithm cannot read body language, sense when a passenger needs assistance but is too polite to ask, or provide the emotional intelligence that defines premium service.
Waymo’s testimony emphasizes their service for “patients heading to medical appointments, travelers going to the airport, parents picking up their children from soccer practice.” These are important journeys, but they’re fundamentally different from the executive transport that defines our business.
When Executive Assistants book our services for their CEOs, they’re not just arranging point-to-point transport. They’re ensuring:
Our Sydney airport limo service isn’t competing with autonomous ride-hailing — we’re providing a completely different tier of service that technology cannot replicate.
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Dr. Peña’s testimony detailed Waymo’s comprehensive safety framework, including their 12 methodologies for evaluating autonomous system readiness. It’s impressive engineering, but it misses a fundamental truth about premium transport: the best technology enhances human service rather than replacing it.
At Cars on Demand, we operate exclusively on the RideMinder dispatch technology platform — currently the hottest dispatch system in Australia with all major chauffeur companies now using it. RideMinder provides:
The difference? RideMinder enhances what skilled professional drivers do best, rather than attempting to eliminate them. Our technology serves our drivers and passengers; it doesn’t replace the human judgment and service excellence that define premium chauffeur transport.
Waymo’s testimony highlighted their commitment to serving blind and low-vision riders through features like screen reader support and audio cues. Dr. Peña stated: “For blind and low-vision riders, Waymo provides a reliable, consistent, and independent mobility experience.”
This is genuinely admirable, but it also reveals the limitations of autonomous service. Passengers with disabilities often need more than accessible technology — they need human assistance. A professional chauffeur can:
Technology can enable independence, but premium chauffeur service provides dignity, safety, and personalized care that autonomous vehicles cannot deliver.
Waymo’s testimony acknowledged that “careers in the transportation industry will shift” while emphasizing the new jobs their technology creates: mechanics, vehicle technicians, dispatchers, and facilities managers. They cite studies suggesting 190 jobs per 1,000 vehicles across development, production, distribution, and maintenance.
What’s missing from this narrative is the human cost of eliminating professional driving as a career path. At Cars on Demand, we employ approximately 1,500 professional drivers across Australia — skilled professionals who provide for their families through their expertise in customer service, navigation, and safe driving.
These aren’t jobs that can be easily retrained into vehicle technician roles. Many of our drivers have decades of experience building relationships with corporate clients, understanding the nuances of premium service, and developing the judgment that comes only from years behind the wheel.
The AV industry’s promise of “non-traditional pathways to careers” and “scholarships for technical schools” doesn’t address the reality that we’re discussing the wholesale elimination of a skilled profession that provides middle-class employment for millions globally.
Dr. Peña’s testimony emphasizes Waymo’s rigorous safety framework, including their three-layer governance structure culminating in their Safety Board composed of the Chief Safety Officer, Chief Product Officer, and a co-CEO. Before any software update or service territory expansion, this board must approve the change.
This is thorough engineering, but it reveals a fundamental limitation of autonomous systems: they operate within predefined parameters. Real-world premium transport requires adapting to situations that cannot be pre-programmed:
At Cars on Demand, our drivers are trained professionals who combine safe driving with situational awareness that no current AI system can replicate. Our 99.99% on-time reliability isn’t just about avoiding accidents — it’s about professional judgment that ensures every aspect of the journey meets premium standards.
Waymo’s testimony was delivered to the U.S. Senate, but the implications extend far beyond American borders. Dr. Peña warned that “Chinese AV competitors will fill the gap and set the safety and technical standards for the rest of the world” if America doesn’t establish national AV legislation.
For Australia, this raises urgent policy questions:
Australia’s transport industry needs to engage with these questions now, before autonomous vehicles arrive and force reactive rather than proactive policy decisions.
After reviewing Dr. Peña’s comprehensive testimony, I’m more convinced than ever that premium chauffeur services occupy a fundamentally different market segment than autonomous ride-hailing.
Waymo may be perfect for:
But Cars on Demand serves clients who value:
Our premium fleet isn’t competing with autonomous vehicles any more than five-star hotels compete with Airbnb. We serve different markets with different expectations.
The most revealing aspect of Waymo’s testimony is what it demonstrates about the role of technology in premium transport. Dr. Peña described their extensive use of simulation, real-world testing, and closed-course evaluation to validate their autonomous systems.
At Cars on Demand, we take a different approach: technology that empowers professional drivers to deliver exceptional service. Our mobile and web apps, available at carsondemand.link/register, provide:
Notice the difference? Our technology serves the passenger-driver relationship rather than attempting to eliminate it.
Dr. Peña’s testimony makes clear that autonomous vehicles are coming, they’re safer than initially expected, and they will reshape urban transportation. I don’t dispute any of these facts.
What I do dispute is the assumption that autonomous ride-hailing will replace premium chauffeur services. The two will coexist, serving different market segments with different needs and expectations.
For business travelers arriving at Sydney Airport who need discretion, professionalism, and human judgment, our Sydney airport transfers will remain the premium choice. For families bringing newborns home from hospital who want a professional driver’s reassurance and assistance, human chauffeurs will continue to provide irreplaceable value.
As autonomous vehicles arrive in Australia — and they will arrive — our industry needs to focus on what makes premium chauffeur service irreplaceable:
At Cars on Demand, we’re not afraid of autonomous vehicles. We’re confident that after 35+ years building Australia’s premier chauffeur service, we understand what our clients truly value — and it’s not just getting from point A to point B.
Waymo’s impressive safety statistics — 10x fewer serious injuries, 12x fewer pedestrian crashes — represent genuine progress in automotive technology. But they measure only one dimension of transportation: physical safety.
Premium chauffeur service encompasses dimensions that no autonomous system can currently replicate:
These aren’t minor details — they’re the essence of premium service. And they require human intelligence, emotional awareness, and decades of professional experience.
Dr. Peña’s Senate testimony offers a glimpse into a future where autonomous vehicles handle much of America’s routine transportation. It’s an impressive vision backed by substantial data and genuine safety improvements.
But for those of us who have spent our careers building premium chauffeur services, the testimony actually reinforces our value proposition. The more transportation becomes commoditized through autonomous ride-hailing, the more premium human-driven service will stand out.
At Cars on Demand, we’re not competing with Waymo or future autonomous services. We’re serving a market segment that values professional human service, guaranteed reliability, and the peace of mind that comes from 35+ years of excellence in chauffeur transport.
Book your next premium transfer through our app at carsondemand.link/register and experience the difference that professional human service makes. Some things technology will never replace — and premium chauffeur transport is one of them.
Simon Kalipciyan is Chief Operating Officer of Cars on Demand, Australia’s premium chauffeur service established in 1990. With operations across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Cairns, Cars on Demand maintains a 99.99% on-time reliability record serving over 5,000 Executive Assistants and corporate clients nationwide. Simon has over three decades of experience in premium transportation and regularly provides industry analysis on the future of chauffeur services in Australia.
For premium chauffeur service that combines cutting-edge technology with irreplaceable human expertise, contact Cars on Demand at 1300 638 258 or visit www.carsondemand.com.au
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