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I look forward to electric (and autonomous) cars for air quality alone. As a dedicated pedestrian fewer cars on the street will directly translate into an impro
by guuiijvhiubf 11y ago
I look forward to electric (and autonomous) cars for air quality alone. As a dedicated pedestrian fewer cars on the street will directly translate into an improved quality of life. It would be amazing if heavily urban areas would dedicate even larger spaces as car free.
- wlesieutre 11y agoAutonomous cars won't do much more than cabs for reducing the number of cars on the street, will they? They'd mostly reduce the number of cars sitting unused in driveways at any given time, but you still have just as many people who need to get from A to B.
- stephengillie 11y agoI think a lot of us are quietly hoping the Auto-car will lead to some sort of CarBNB outcome, where the car can be scheduled by almost anyone when it's available. The car's owner is just another passenger, except maybe they can bump another's schedule and call the car to them on demand.
- jschwartzi 11y agoI'm more interested in Car-as-a-Service. Basically, I pay a monthly fee for car access from a fleet in my metro area. When I need a car, I text a pickup and dropoff address to dispatch, which runs the numbers and sends me an eta. If I know I'll be making a trip ahead of time, I can bid for an appointment though a web or app interface which lets me see what prices will likely win for certain time slots and trips. That way dispatch can optimize fleet size, travel time, and eta by charging a monthly fee for system maintenance plus trip fees for each trip. All it has to do is be cheaper than what I pay now to maintain my own vehicle.
- stephengillie 11y agoAnd will the fleet be owned and operated by a central authority? Or will it be several independent networks of car owners?
- toomuchtodo 11y agoWith self driving tech and electric drivetrains, it'll be impossible for it not to be significantly cheaper than current car transportation.
- adrianN 11y agoAutonomous micro buses and some intelligent route planning algorithm have the potential to make the current "single human transported by 1t of metal" model obsolete.
- wlesieutre 11y agoGood point! I hope that happens.
- sandworm101 11y agoAutonomous cars probably will not reduce traffic. If anything they might increase it. For instance they will allow any number of current non-drivers to take to the road. The very old/blind or anyone else physically unable to operate a car need no longer rely on public transit, not to mention countless children. Even without adding new drivers, there is the horrific probability that autodrive cars could be used to avoid parking fees. Why pay for parking when the car can circle the mall for a few hours on its own? The reduced cost of operation may also result in more vehicles. (I disagree, but most here assume will be cheaper than a standard car+driver.) If vehicles suddenly become far cheaper to operate, any number of businesses may send out autodrives where today doing so would be cost-prohibitive. The private security industry surely has ideas for autodrive cars to replace on-foot security patrols. And, as with uber, the addition of transport options priced somewhere between taxis and public transit surely will draw customers from the later.
- andys627 11y agoTraffic around good places to park consists of lots of cars circling. Maybe a result would be less parking and less cars circling so more of those primo real estate places can be dedicated to other uses.