>I wonder what will happen to the drivers if a large representation of the 1 million+ daily trips are displaced by automation?
If it happens gradually enough, they will just find other jobs. After the transition, society will be producing more with the same labor force, and thus the aggregate utility will increase.
In the past when automation displaced many jobs, we did things like raise the age kids could stay in school. There used to be huge numbers of e.g. 14 year olds who previously would be expected to go to work that would now have the opportunity to stay in school. Kind of like a mini UBI as in the transition period they would usually get given food, healthcare etc at least minimally. What’s the equivalent now?
And homo economist lived happy ever after with his field of spherical cows.
And the median wage will continue to decline, as the productivity gains are scooped up by fewer and fewer.
US median household income is at an all time high.[1] The pandemic caused a decline for a few years but it's recovered now.
[1]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/200838/median-household-...