110 years of history says "yes." Hell, dude, bicycles are status symbols. Trapper Keepers are status symbols. If it can be possessed in better condition than that available readily on the market, it's a status symbol. The problem under discussion is getting pedestrians over a wide geographical area to their disparate destinations in an efficient way. "Driverless" is a red herring; the real issue is that these pedestrians are using a shared mode of transport. It isn't a "bus route" problem because the network is transitory; it's only a "taxi" problem because the authors presume that none of these individuals will share a ride. If they won't share a ride, it's back to status. If they will share a ride, it's a vanpool probem. Southeast asia is full of tuk tuks, rickshaws, scooter taxis, all the rest. The cost of transport is low even for the indigenous. Nonetheless, ownership persists. Status persists.Therefore they will always be status symbols?
Vanpools have nothing to do with driverless cars.