Self-driving tech attracts investors, but Uber still relies on its drivers

Ride-hailing drivers picket on May 8, 2019, near Los Angeles International Airport demanding higher wages. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick once blamed the high cost of each ride on the "other dude in the car" – the driver. 

It has long been on the ride-hailing company's road map to someday replace its vast workforce of contractors with self-driving vehicles, lowering fares and increasing profits.