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It's bizarre. Did every "futurologist" miss that, you know, an autonomous car is still the same size and shape as a normal car? That they still carry most likel

It's bizarre. Did every "futurologist" miss that, you know, an autonomous car is still the same size and shape as a normal car? That they still carry most likely 1 person? If you want to have roving fleets of autonomous cars and ban personal traffic, well guess what, ban cars and get a bunch of light rail, you can have that today.

zzzzzzzza 10y ago
Did every "futurologist" miss that, you know, an autonomous car is still the same size and shape as a normal car? That they still carry most likely 1 person? 1. an autonomous car will probably be smaller and yes possibly a different shape than current cars. 2. If you have a fleet of on demand autonomous cars, you can have different sizes of cars for different loads: small cars for individual trips, up to vans or buses for ride sharing (which would presumably be cheaper). Also everything from trucks to uhaul to big rigs for rent for moving stuff around.
cr0sh 10y ago
Light rail can't go exactly where you want to go. Light rail can't carry packages for you (virtual trailer). Light rail can't deliver packages (imagine being able to shop, pick something up, then put it in a car to have it delivered to your home - and wait for you until you get there). Light rail does work well for intermediate distances - say travel from your house in the suburbs or further out to the middle of the city - or "between cities" (I'm talking about the individual "city areas" that are part of larger metro areas - think "Oakland to San Francisco" - which are part of the "SF Metro Area"). But for certain tasks (getting to-from the light-rail, or delivery service) - self-driving vehicles can work better. Now - if instead of light rail, you used something like Doug Malewicki's SkyTran system (largely unproven, though) - then you can almost (again, theoretically) get the benefits of self-driving personal vehicles, with the benefits of light rail - and without needing the years-long effort and expense to tear up existing streets or what-not. There would still need to be some kind of self-driving vehicles, but they could be in much smaller numbers (I'm still thinking things like delivery - for instance, if you went to Home Depot or something and ordered some sacks of concrete - you're not taking that on a light-rail or other similar system - of course, maybe all of this would be ordered online and delivered in the future - but there's still going to be stuff out there that will only be able to be purchased "on site" - plants, for example - or junkyard parts).

zzzzzzzza 10y ago

Did every "futurologist" miss that, you know, an autonomous car is still the same size and shape as a normal car? That they still carry most likely 1 person? 1. an autonomous car will probably be smaller and yes possibly a different shape than current cars. 2. If you have a fleet of on demand autonomous cars, you can have different sizes of cars for different loads: small cars for individual trips, up to vans or buses for ride sharing (which would presumably be cheaper). Also everything from trucks to uhaul to big rigs for rent for moving stuff around.

cr0sh 10y ago

Light rail can't go exactly where you want to go. Light rail can't carry packages for you (virtual trailer). Light rail can't deliver packages (imagine being able to shop, pick something up, then put it in a car to have it delivered to your home - and wait for you until you get there). Light rail does work well for intermediate distances - say travel from your house in the suburbs or further out to the middle of the city - or "between cities" (I'm talking about the individual "city areas" that are part of larger metro areas - think "Oakland to San Francisco" - which are part of the "SF Metro Area"). But for certain tasks (getting to-from the light-rail, or delivery service) - self-driving vehicles can work better. Now - if instead of light rail, you used something like Doug Malewicki's SkyTran system (largely unproven, though) - then you can almost (again, theoretically) get the benefits of self-driving personal vehicles, with the benefits of light rail - and without needing the years-long effort and expense to tear up existing streets or what-not. There would still need to be some kind of self-driving vehicles, but they could be in much smaller numbers (I'm still thinking things like delivery - for instance, if you went to Home Depot or something and ordered some sacks of concrete - you're not taking that on a light-rail or other similar system - of course, maybe all of this would be ordered online and delivered in the future - but there's still going to be stuff out there that will only be able to be purchased "on site" - plants, for example - or junkyard parts).