Math

Leaving aside my skepticism about the technology, the reason drivers are 80% of the cost for Uber is because Uber doesn't own the damn cars. They don't have the capital expenses. With a self-driving fleet, they would.

The driver represents the single largest expense in non-autonomous ride-sharing at 80% of the total per mile cost, according to estimates by research firm Frost & Sullivan. By removing the driver from the equation, fully autonomous vehicles dramatically lower the cost of a ride while boosting its addressable market. Already offering software as a service, Uber plans to take the bet further by making the cost of rides so low (between its fleet of human and robot cars) that vehicle ownership becomes obsolete.