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Driverless Taxis Waymo Introduced On City Streets


It had to happen sooner or later! With all the hoopla about automatic cars on the roads, soon you’ll be able to hail, hop on and hop off a driverless taxi. It could happen in a city wherever your future travel schedule takes you. As with Uber and Lyft, you’ll call with your smartphone app and go for a ride.

And just maybe, the inventors of the new taxis will add familiar features from traditional taxis to ease your ride. Such as: When you tell the automatic driver your destination, you must speak in a foreign language of taxi driver’s origin, such as Brazilian, Swahili or Mogadishu. Also, from the back seat, you’ll smell the automatic driver’s unwashed odor of sweat, flatulence, garlic, wine, chili or week-old fishcakes.

When you enter the Waymo cab, it will automatically take you on the longest and most expensive round-about route. And if you ride on a busy traffic evening to a downtown restaurant or theater, the pumped-up tab will be double the daytime rate. Finally a question: How much do you tip a non-human driver?

Philly Liberty Bell area to get new hotel PDF Print E-mail

Liberty Bell

The Kimpton hotel chain plans to revitalize an old building just a short walk away from the famed American icon. Guest rooms will have a clear view of the famed Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in downtown Philadelphia.

The 11-story Lafayette Building on the Fifth Street side of Independence Mall will be fully refurbished at a cost estimated to be $70 million to become a 270-room boutique hotel.

The closest major chain hotel in the very busy tourist area is the Omni at 5th and Chestnut Streets. No actual construction has started on the new hotel, and no opening date has been announced yet.

 
 
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