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Do you think people will prefer to use a self driving car that gets them to the office ten minutes faster or one that meanders around picking up other people an

by desas 10y ago

Do you think people will prefer to use a self driving car that gets them to the office ten minutes faster or one that meanders around picking up other people and dropping them off?

usrusr 10y ago
For many people, that meander will save them more money than they will earn in any other 10 minute slot of the day. And sitting in a robocab is smartphone media consumption time (or time for a printed newspaper, if you're a Vicky), it's not terribly hard to tolerate minutes that way. A well designed (and sufficiently dense in usage) shared autonomous car system could also support usage patterns a lot more dynamic than rigid door-to-door pickup: instead of sitting around idle, waiting for a car to divert into the cul de sac maze of their suburb, users might prefer a little walk towards the next through road, with the app auto-negotiating a rendezvous point. Not only because taking a little walk through your neighborhood is less annoying than sitting idle on call for pickup, but also because it would actually be faster. With that usage pattern, pickup overhead for the occupants would be much lower I say "could" instead of "will" because all this is more a question of cultural development than a technological/economic one. If individual car usage does not go out of fashion, robotic driving will only continue the trend towards ever bigger commuter castles.
- optimuspaul 10y ago
  > if you're a Vicky What does that mean? Like someone from the victorian age? I think they are all dead.
  - pmahoney 10y ago
    Just guessing, but maybe a reference to Neal Stephenson's novel, _The Diamond Age_. If I recall, "vicky" is a slightly derogatory term used to describe (wealthy) residents of New Victoria, who are shown to buy things like handmade furniture (where mass-produced machine-made furniture is cheaper if not also higher quality). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age
  - usrusr 10y ago
    Sorry for the confusion. Like the other answer said, as in neo-Victorian, the retro-tribe from The Diamond Age. I was hoping that the reference was buried deep enough in a tangent to be harmless, and you mostly figured it out from context anyways.
mahyarm 10y ago
Well like uber pool / uber X, it will have 2 price points and people can choose what is more important. Also with more people using it, the less meandering it does. If everyone uses the "uberpool" system, it will probably pick up everyone in about 5 minutes in a 2 block radius and drop you off at one spot 1 block from your work. The more dense it is, the more efficient it gets.
MagnumOpus 10y ago
Depends on the cost. If cost were not a concern, everyone would take a private cab. And if 1 occupant per 2-ton-vehicle becomes the norm, dense cities will implement congestion pricing or surtaxes to force multiple occupancy or public transport usage - if 1 million driverless taxis try to deliver people into the square mile of the City of London, everyone will have a bad time. (Ditto for Manhattan, SF, downtown Boston, Hong Kong Midtown etc.)

by desas 10y ago

Do you think people will prefer to use a self driving car that gets them to the office ten minutes faster or one that meanders around picking up other people and dropping them off?

usrusr 10y ago

For many people, that meander will save them more money than they will earn in any other 10 minute slot of the day. And sitting in a robocab is smartphone media consumption time (or time for a printed newspaper, if you're a Vicky), it's not terribly hard to tolerate minutes that way. A well designed (and sufficiently dense in usage) shared autonomous car system could also support usage patterns a lot more dynamic than rigid door-to-door pickup: instead of sitting around idle, waiting for a car to divert into the cul de sac maze of their suburb, users might prefer a little walk towards the next through road, with the app auto-negotiating a rendezvous point. Not only because taking a little walk through your neighborhood is less annoying than sitting idle on call for pickup, but also because it would actually be faster. With that usage pattern, pickup overhead for the occupants would be much lower I say "could" instead of "will" because all this is more a question of cultural development than a technological/economic one. If individual car usage does not go out of fashion, robotic driving will only continue the trend towards ever bigger commuter castles.

optimuspaul 10y ago
> if you're a Vicky What does that mean? Like someone from the victorian age? I think they are all dead.
- pmahoney 10y ago
  Just guessing, but maybe a reference to Neal Stephenson's novel, _The Diamond Age_. If I recall, "vicky" is a slightly derogatory term used to describe (wealthy) residents of New Victoria, who are shown to buy things like handmade furniture (where mass-produced machine-made furniture is cheaper if not also higher quality). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age
- usrusr 10y ago
  Sorry for the confusion. Like the other answer said, as in neo-Victorian, the retro-tribe from The Diamond Age. I was hoping that the reference was buried deep enough in a tangent to be harmless, and you mostly figured it out from context anyways.

mahyarm 10y ago

Well like uber pool / uber X, it will have 2 price points and people can choose what is more important. Also with more people using it, the less meandering it does. If everyone uses the "uberpool" system, it will probably pick up everyone in about 5 minutes in a 2 block radius and drop you off at one spot 1 block from your work. The more dense it is, the more efficient it gets.

MagnumOpus 10y ago

Depends on the cost. If cost were not a concern, everyone would take a private cab. And if 1 occupant per 2-ton-vehicle becomes the norm, dense cities will implement congestion pricing or surtaxes to force multiple occupancy or public transport usage - if 1 million driverless taxis try to deliver people into the square mile of the City of London, everyone will have a bad time. (Ditto for Manhattan, SF, downtown Boston, Hong Kong Midtown etc.)