Obviously trains win on raw throughput, regardless of who drives. If you expect to supplant trains with self driving cars, you are doing it wrong. The two techn

Obviously trains win on raw throughput, regardless of who drives. If you expect to supplant trains with self driving cars, you are doing it wrong. The two technologies aren't in opposition. They are complimentary. If mass transit can handle 80% of my daily commute, that means I buy a car for commuting. Or if mass transit requires extensive planning, delays or limitations for unscheduled non-commuter travel; then I buy a car. If I have the car, then I might as well use it. With self driving cars in the mix, I know that whenever I want, I can put a destination in my phone and reliably gain transportation to anywhere inexpensively and immediately. Now that 80% mass transit solution is enough for commuting, because a car service is waiting to handle the last 20% as well as non-commuter travel. Ideally we will see coordination between services/transfers. I put one destination into my phone and it handles booking car -> train -> car -> destination without having to fiddle with buying transit passes or checking train schedules. Then you will see mass transit usage ramp up significantly. Edit: Imagine something like on-demand vans that do nothing but taxi people to the local bus/train/tram station. Or even do full point-point travel if the next train is >maxtime away.