4 ms·

One of the biggest issues is that the road infrastructure and the city layout is already there. Sure cities may be better if they were walkable but most people

One of the biggest issues is that the road infrastructure and the city layout is already there. Sure cities may be better if they were walkable but most people live across the full metropolitan areas. Taking the SF Bay area an example: Sure I can take the Caltrain or the Bart to get to nearly any city but it'll always be the long way around. Think San Mateo to Union City. Crossing a bridge it's direct. The road infra structure is already there and the cities are built around it. Sure there's probably some cryptic bus route but the difference right now is (with a quick google) 35 mins vs 1.5 hr. I think self driving cars have the potential to build on our car centric ecosystems. Look at how Uber/Lyft have adapted into Uber Pool and Lyft Line. They've done more to change people's driving habits than any changes to the public transportation system. I'm excited to see how self driving cars solve this by dropping the price point further and exploring larger pools.

trhway 8y ago
>Think San Mateo to Union City. Crossing a bridge it's direct. The road infra structure is already there and the cities are built around it. Sure there's probably some cryptic bus route but the difference right now is (with a quick google) 35 mins vs 1.5 hr. that is the use case best suited for flying tub https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQK9m_OBVgY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQK9m_OBVgY
deleted 8y ago
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ucaetano 8y ago
> I think self driving cars have the potential to build on our car centric ecosystems. But the problem is that car-centric systems are not scalable and sustainable. Sure, self-driving cars would do well in the Bay Area, but they would only make traffic worse, as now people are willing to spend a longer time in traffic, since they are no longer driving. Self-driving cars actually remove one of the negative feedback mechanisms of traffic.

trhway 8y ago

>Think San Mateo to Union City. Crossing a bridge it's direct. The road infra structure is already there and the cities are built around it. Sure there's probably some cryptic bus route but the difference right now is (with a quick google) 35 mins vs 1.5 hr. that is the use case best suited for flying tub https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQK9m_OBVgY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQK9m_OBVgY

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

ucaetano 8y ago

> I think self driving cars have the potential to build on our car centric ecosystems. But the problem is that car-centric systems are not scalable and sustainable. Sure, self-driving cars would do well in the Bay Area, but they would only make traffic worse, as now people are willing to spend a longer time in traffic, since they are no longer driving. Self-driving cars actually remove one of the negative feedback mechanisms of traffic.