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I'm pretty sure you can argue for personal car ownership in a self-driving world. Do you want to get into a shared vehicle right after the guy who puked up his

I'm pretty sure you can argue for personal car ownership in a self-driving world. Do you want to get into a shared vehicle right after the guy who puked up his dinner? Have you ever been in a public restroom? Some people will not want to use shared transportation. Other people may see ownership and customization of a self-driving car as the ultimate status symbol. What's better than Donald Trump's gold plated throne room pulling up to the curb?

amelius 10y ago
> Do you want to get into a shared vehicle right after the guy who puked up his dinner? You simply flag the car as dirty and wait for the next car. The previous guy will get a nice cleaning bill. Also, I'm sure there will be different classes of cars, with appropriate price tags.
icebraining 10y ago
The puke will be detected by the electronic vision & nose, which will flag the car for cleaning before the next trip.
- gambiting 10y ago
  If rental or "share" cars are anything to go by, they will be lowest spec, with maybe AC and electric windows if you are super lucky and someone wanted to splurge on extra "luxury". Electronic detectors for puke? What universe would that be in?
  - icebraining 10y ago
    In the universe where they are cost-saving devices, not luxuries. In a self-driving taxi system, the company has three options: schedule a cleaning after each trip (very expensive), have an auto-detection system or deliver a dirty car to the customer to get sent back, which will be a waste of time and gas, not to mention the bad customer experience. Consider you can already get a portable e-nose (to detect spoiled meat, for example) for $150 on retail, the cost is definitively worth it.
ghaff 10y ago
The cleanliness factor seems overrated doesn't seem to be a major issue with Zipcar, for example. However, people like to customize their cars, store things in them, etc. Sure, there's a limit to how big a premium you'll pay in many cases. But it's not strictly an economic argument.

amelius 10y ago

> Do you want to get into a shared vehicle right after the guy who puked up his dinner? You simply flag the car as dirty and wait for the next car. The previous guy will get a nice cleaning bill. Also, I'm sure there will be different classes of cars, with appropriate price tags.

icebraining 10y ago

The puke will be detected by the electronic vision & nose, which will flag the car for cleaning before the next trip.

gambiting 10y ago
If rental or "share" cars are anything to go by, they will be lowest spec, with maybe AC and electric windows if you are super lucky and someone wanted to splurge on extra "luxury". Electronic detectors for puke? What universe would that be in?
- icebraining 10y ago
  In the universe where they are cost-saving devices, not luxuries. In a self-driving taxi system, the company has three options: schedule a cleaning after each trip (very expensive), have an auto-detection system or deliver a dirty car to the customer to get sent back, which will be a waste of time and gas, not to mention the bad customer experience. Consider you can already get a portable e-nose (to detect spoiled meat, for example) for $150 on retail, the cost is definitively worth it.

ghaff 10y ago

The cleanliness factor seems overrated doesn't seem to be a major issue with Zipcar, for example. However, people like to customize their cars, store things in them, etc. Sure, there's a limit to how big a premium you'll pay in many cases. But it's not strictly an economic argument.