Column: Inside a robotaxi, throwing caution -- and logic-- to the wind

I was headed headed west on 3rd Street from a mid-city senior center with 89-year-old Julie Finger, who showed no sign of fear. Our ride wasn't just any old car; it was a fully loaded electric Jaguar, and among other details worth sharing, one in particular stands out. Are you the least bit nervous? "No," she said with a giggle. Our robotaxi service was Waymo, the Google autonomous vehicle company that has fleets in San Francisco and Phoenix and began limited service in Los Angeles this spring in a 63-square-mile area between downtown L.A. and the beach. California is about to be hit by an aging population wave, and Steve Lopez is riding it.