How to keep a robotaxi clean between rides

A car with no driver has nobody to notice a spilled drink. In a regular taxi the driver sees the mess at the end of the ride and deals with it before the next pickup. In a robotaxi the next rider finds it instead, and that rider is the one who leaves the review.

This guide is a simple routine for owners who run one cab or a handful of them. It covers what to check, what to keep in the car, and how to hear about a problem as soon as a rider sees it.

Start with what riders notice first

Riders judge a cab in the first few seconds. They look at the seat they are about to sit on, the floor by their feet and the smell when the door opens. Those three things matter more than a spotless dashboard.

• Seats: stains, crumbs and anything wet. A wet seat is the fastest way to lose a rider.
• Floor and footwells: wrappers, cups and grit carried in on shoes.
• Smell: food, smoke or anything worse lingers in a closed cabin.
• Items left behind: phones, bags and keys. A rider who lost something wants a fast reply.

A routine you can keep

A schedule is a good baseline, but it cannot see the evening when one spilled soda ruins the seat for everyone after it. A cleaning schedule cannot see that. Pair a light routine with a way for riders to tell you when something goes wrong.

• At the start of the day, look at every seat and footwell and air out the cabin.
• Keep a small kit in your garage or depot: microfiber cloths, an upholstery-safe cleaner, trash bags and gloves.
• After a busy period, do a quick walk-around of the interior before the cab goes back out.
• Write down what you find and which cab it was in, so you can spot a cab that keeps having the same problem.

Let riders be your early warning

The rider is the only person who sees the inside of the car between your checks. If reporting a problem is quick, most riders will tell you before the next rider sits in it.

That is the idea behind RoboCab Care rider cards. You stick a free rider card in each cab, each with its own code, and it takes about a minute to make them. A rider scans the card, taps what is wrong (a spill, trash, a smell, a lost item) and sends it. No app and no account are needed for the rider, and the card code is random and says nothing about you.

A rider report is read by a person and relayed to you using your contact details; it does not dispatch anyone on its own. Rider cards stay free for every cab you own, on every plan, including if you never book a rescue.

When a report comes in

Decide in advance what you will do for each kind of report, so a message at a busy time does not become a long decision.

• Lost item: reply to the rider quickly and hold the item somewhere safe.
• Trash or a small spill: take the cab out of service until it is cleaned, if you can.
• Someone was sick or a seat is soaked: treat it as a priority, because the next rider will notice at once.
• Bigger jobs such as soaked foam, several seats, smoke or mold are quoted from the rider's report and your photos before anyone goes out, so you know the price first.

Getting help at the car

If you would rather not do the cleanup yourself, RoboCab Care can arrange a rescue at the car. Every request is confirmed for availability in your area before any charge, and nothing is booked or charged until you agree in writing. Current pilot prices are Quick rescue $59, Spill rescue $89 and Sick-seat rescue $149, with travel within 10 road miles included for confirmed requests. We do not promise a response time we cannot keep.

You can see rescue prices or make free rider cards on the main site. RoboCab Care is made by Lucky Ranasinghe and is part of MADITECH.