"One argument is that commute times will take longer because we will become indifferent to how long the commute will take. As we approach the state where all ca

"One argument is that commute times will take longer because we will become indifferent to how long the commute will take. As we approach the state where all cars are fully autonomous, there are no traffic lights and there are no accidents, we should be able to do anything we want during the commute. Heck, we can even sleep during the commute like we do on trains or plains. Commute will definitely transform from something painful to a much nicer activity. But also this will free up so much space (parking spots, auto repair shops) that people will live much closer to the work and won’t have to commute as much as today." Ahahahah! At least in SF, those parking lots will not be transformed into apartments. If they are, then the rents will be just as insane. Also, does the author think that a self-driving car will not need repairs just as much as a regular car? If you add more stuff to a design, generally, you then have more things that can break and need repair. Yes, they may be gas-electric engines or just full batteries, but the sensors and whatnot will have to be repaired too. I think it's safe to say that the part-count on a self-driving car will be higher than the part counts on cars today. In addition to that, since the commute will not matter as much since you are asleep for most of it (the author thinks (also, why not just make you car a Winnebago and forgo the costs of rent?)) then you will be more comfortable living further away from your job. That means your car will spend more time and distance on the road humming along which then leads to more wear and tear, and therefore an increased need for repair (regardless of gas or battery power). If fact, you will need more square feet for auto-repair shops as the cars will wear out more quickly, but maybe not near population centers, as the car can go drive itself to a shop while you are at lunch.